A Ripple in Time
by ElementalMaiden97
Summary: Kagome returns to her time to resupply. While gone, Naraku attacks the group; somehow they disappear. When Kagome tries to return after the group has vanished, she finds herself unable. Time passes, and the group reappears 30 years in the future. Kagome's daughter suddenly finds herself filling her mother's role of collecting the shards and defeating Naraku. Rated just in case.
1. Chapter 1: Loss of the Past

**IMPORTANT! Read this before you start reading the actual story, please!**

 _This story takes place after episode 31: Jinenji, Kind Yet Sad. Kikyo has been resurrected, Kohaku has been revived and works for Naraku, and Sango has been forgiven for stealing Tetsusaiga. Koga has not met the group, but he has married Ayame and had children. Sesshomaru did not revive Rin until about twenty years_ after _Inuyasha and the gang left. And now, on with the story!_

* * *

Inuyasha growled in agitation and tightened his grip on Tetsusaiga. The bastard, Naraku, had dodged yet another of his attacks. Where the hell was Kagome? He never should have allowed her to return to her time alone to get whatever the hell it was she needed because she was too damn slow if she couldn't return within a couple of hours! Honestly, was it that difficult to grab the things she needed, shove them into that accursed yellow bag, and then return? Inuyasha surely didn't think so.

Because Inuyasha's thoughts had distracted him, Naraku found an opening in the hanyou's defenses, and the dark haired demon smirked cockily as he impaled his silver-haired opponent through his chest. He noticed the young demon slayer stealthily moving around to attack with her Hiraikotsu. He smirked again and summoned his poisonous, black smog.

The three adults, along with the two-tailed demon and the fox demon child, huddled together, standing back to back as the dense fog began to drive them back. They knew Naraku had successfully hidden within the miasma and would attack when he saw an opportune moment, based on past experiences—but he never did. Instead, the poisonous gas began to cave in around them, and it was stronger than anything they had ever encountered when battling Naraku. Before any permanent damage could be done, a sphere began to form around them from within the miasma. It shrank around them and a bright, white-gold color seemed to engulf the sphere until it became so small that it disappeared, leaving no trace of the people who had stood there moments before.

Naraku's malicious chuckle resounded through the quiet forest that surrounded him once the miasma dissipated. All he had seen was his miasma killing his enemies without a trace of them left. "Now I shall have no trouble finding the Shikon no Tama fragments," he remarked to himself. His chuckle faded from existence has he slipped through the thickets in pursuit of the remaining shards unhindered.

~x~

Kagome rushed around the house like a woman who had lost her marbles. Of course, she just had to fall asleep! She knew Inuyasha would be nearly irate when she got back to her friends in the Feudal Era—if he wasn't already. Honestly, she hadn't meant to fall asleep. Her bed had been so comfy after sleeping on the ground for months, that it had felt like heaven when she had laid back upon it to take a short breather—only for her to fall asleep. She let out a sigh as she triple checked her items and quickly dashed out of the house after saying goodbye to her family, all of whom had different responses.

Her mother had given her a kindly smile, telling her to have a good time and be safe. She knew her daughter was in dangerous situations constantly, but she tried not to worry too much. Her brother, Sota, had told Kagome to tell Inuyasha 'hi' for him and that Inuyasha should make an effort to visit the family. Her grandfather had good-naturedly started complaining about not being able to come up with more illnesses for her absences from school and that they should just pull her out and home-school her. Kagome had laughed at this and would have responded if not for the hurry in which she was.

Kagome ran to the Bone-Eaters well and vaulted over the side, only to wince in pain when her feet made contact with the bottom of the dry well. Confusion spread through her like a wildfire. She climbed up the ladder a couple of rungs and then jumped down once again. Nothing happened.

She wasn't traveling.

Dismay washed down upon her, and Kagome did the only thing she could think of: she began clawing away at the ground in hopes of digging her way to the past. (It had worked before, why shouldn't it work again?) Once a sizable hole had been created and nothing changed (except her hands began to ache), Kagome's shoulders slumped in defeat. Slowly, Kagome ascended the ladder and walked back inside the house. "Kagome, what's wrong? I thought you were going back through the well." Concern filled her mother's voice, which only increased in amounts when she caught sight of Kagome's dirt-covered hands.

The girl looked up at her mother, her face tearstained and eyes puffy and red. "I-It's not working. I-I can't go back." Her mother held her as her sobs caused her body to quake.

Kagome had checked every day to see if she could get through the well since the initial loss of the Feudal Era for the first four to five years. However, once she had been ready to graduate high school, she had only checked once every two weeks, but that slowly decreased as time passed. After twelve years had come and gone, and she could still not get through the Bone-Eaters well, Kagome decided that her destiny had changed and that she needed to move on with her life. She wanted to start a family with her recently married husband, Hojo. Around nine months later, Kagome and her family found themselves at the hospital preparing to welcome another member into the family.

"You have a beautiful baby girl." Kagome smiled weakly and accepted her baby with relief from the nurse. Her mother smiled next to her while her husband stood on the other side, beaming like the proud father he was.

Kagome looked at her child and noticed a faint, pink glow around her little girl. The name for the child came to her, as Kagome's had to her mother. "Saya."

Hojo looked from his tired wife to his beautiful child before he nodded. "The name sounds fitting," Hojo said in agreement with his wife. Thus, the child was named Hojo Saya.

~x~

Multiple years later in the Feudal Era, cries of surprise were heard as the missing group of comrades fell from the sphere which suddenly appeared, suspended in the air. The quick-thinking neko transformed into her larger form and safely caught her demon slayer, who in turn grabbed onto the falling monk. Inuyasha's reflexes kicked in as he bounded off trees before landing safely on the ground; he looked up in time to catch Shippo, who was dropping to the ground helplessly. Inuyasha allowed the small kit to rest upon his shoulder as he surveyed their surroundings. It looked to be the same place they had been before Naraku had pulled some sort of trick and the group was relocated, and yet it appeared different. Inuyasha, however, could not tell how.

The irritated hanyou growled in agitation and punched the nearest tree, causing the small demon resting upon his shoulder to shift to avoid injury. "Damn that Naraku! What the hell did he do, and where did he send us?"

Miroku looked around as well before he sighed. "I haven't the slightest inkling, but perhaps it is best to return to Kaede's hut and figure everything else out there, agreed?" Inuyasha grunted but led the way to the miko's hut while everyone fell silent as they followed. Sango spoke up as they neared the village.

"Inuyasha, hadn't Naraku injured you?" Inuyasha nodded, and glanced down in surprise. He hadn't noticed, but the wound he had received had, indeed, been healed. The group's confusion rose exponentially.

When they arrived at the village, the lot was surprised to see so many new faces. After a startling realization, the group recognized that the adults of the village had been children before Naraku's trickery. What had happened?

Inuyasha continued to lead the others throughout the village looking for Kaede with vigor, in hopes of discovering what had happened. When they saw the elderly miko at last, they restrained themselves from saying anything rude; even Inuyasha held his tongue. She had aged quite a bit.

 _How is the old hag even alive?_ Inuyasha wondered silently as they approached.

"Master Inuyasha! You have returned at long last!" Myoga, the flea, exclaimed upon sighting Inuyasha and jumping on him, attempting to suck some of his blood—the resulted action flattened the flea as Inuyasha smashed the minute demon onto his face.

"What the hell do you mean by 'at long last'? We've only been gone for a little while," spat Inuyasha with annoyance.

"No, it may feel that way for you, Inuyasha, but it has been nearing thirty years since you have last stepped foot in this village. Myoga had gotten worried when he had no longer smelt your blood, thus he came here to wait with me."

Inuyasha was quiet for a moment before he asked, "Has…Kagome been here?" Kaede shook her head and said that Kagome had not been back since before they disappeared. Inuyasha looked out toward the Bone-Eaters well. He left without a word, while the others glanced between each other.

~x~

Kagome sighed in contentment as she looked out the window of the shrine house. She had begged Hojo to allow her to remain here, saying the shrine was to remain in the family as it had been for generations. He had agreed, much to Kagome's pleasure and relief. (She knew that Sota had been more than willing to take over the shrine so Kagome and Hojo could build a life together without the past coming back to haunt her, but Kagome had declined; she had a feeling that she needed to remain where she was.)

Time had passed more quickly than she would have liked. Since the day Saya was born, Kagome had only gone to check the well four times in total. She had long since lost hope of ever traveling back in time through the well to see everyone.

But with the loss of hope for Kagome, herself, returning, there came a new hope that perhaps Saya would take Kagome's place and be allowed through the well. As that hope blossomed, so did the memory of the fear that Kagome had felt when she had first found herself in the Feudal Era; Kagome did not wish for her only daughter to feel the same way should Saya ever venture through the well. And so, she took precautions and insisted that Saya do things that normal children her age would not be doing.

One such thing was for Saya to take archery lessons, even from a young age. Hojo had no idea why his wife had insisted their child have such training, but he agreed to support Kagome's decisions, no matter how bizarre they seemed. Hojo had seemed exceptionally surprised to learn that their little girl had been doing fairly well in her extracurricular activities, but Kagome was not; she knew the reasons for her daughter's success as well as she knew how she, herself, had become so good at archery back in the Feudal Era: The two (both mother and daughter) had been destined to become mikos, and as such, they needed to know how to defend themselves and how to wield a bow correctly. Saya had, indeed, made her mother extremely proud of her.

When Saya had reached the age of twelve, Kagome had become pregnant once again. She soon gave birth to a boy, Daichi, making Hojo ecstatic; he had always wanted a boy. Kagome had her husband spend extra time with their son while she continued to train their daughter.

After Saya turned sixteen (nearing two years ago), Kagome had given her some wisdom about the well: "Whenever you go near the well, bring your bow and arrows." Kagome had also given Saya the necklace of Shikon fragments with instructions to never remove them from her presence. Saya had been a good child and listened to her mother, even if she had not truly understood why or for what purpose to do so.

Saya was now preparing to graduate from high school in a couple of weeks while Daichi prepared to attend elementary school in the next school year, but there was still no luck getting through to the other side of the well. Kagome exhaled and went to put away a dish that she had been drying, only for it to shatter as she dropped it at the sound of a feminine scream of terror. _Saya._

~x~

Saya screamed as she was grasped from behind. Something decidedly ominous was pinning her where she stood in front of the well. Saya screamed again as she felt the thing wrapped around her tighten its hold, binding her and refusing to allow her to move. A tremor of fear ran down Saya's spine as the thing spoke, " _You possess Shikon no Tama shards. I want them. Give them to me now!"_

"Get the hell away from me!" Saya shouted as she felt the thing lick her cheek. Saya began to struggle when she felt herself being lifted from the ground and falling head-first into the well. Before the shrine disappeared from her line of vision, Saya's last glimpse was of her mother's face, drained of color, looking at her with fear clearly displayed upon her features.

~x~

Inuyasha ran through the forest, his mind swarming with thoughts—all of which focused upon what he had just heard from Kaede and Myoga. He had been gone for thirty years. Kagome hadn't returned since they left. Inuyasha could not believe how much time had passed for him without him realizing. First, he had been pinned to a tree for fifty years, and now he had vanished with everyone for another thirty. Could fate not give him an easier life?

The fresh scent of blood assaulted his nose as he drew nearer to the well and disrupted his musings. The familiarity of the scent nearly made him stop in his tracks. The scent was similar to Kagome's; his speed increased.

Upon his arrival at the well, he saw a corpse of a demon chasing after a young woman whose appearance was similar to that of an older version of Kagome. The demon was weak; Inuyasha did not understand why Kagome didn't simply shoot it and finish it off. Was she fooling around with the weakling? No, that was not like her. The sharp pang of fear coated her scent when Inuyasha inhaled; he jumped in to intervene.

~x~

Saya stumbled on an uneven patch of earth and fell, landing on her stomach. Turning onto her back and sitting up as quickly as she could, Saya stared in horror as the demon drew nearer. Saya cursed herself inwardly that she didn't have her bow and arrows with her. _The_ one time _I didn't bring my bow and arrows, something like_ this _happens_ , thought Saya with disdain toward herself as the demon reared up to attack her. Just as she shut her eyes and awaited the pain that was inevitable, a cry of pain erupted from the demon that had been poised to kill her followed by the sound of flesh being torn apart by a metal object.

"What the hell is your problem, Kagome? Why didn't you take out that demon? It was a weakling!"

Wearily cracking open an eye, Saya glanced toward the origin of the voice. The sight before her was an unexpected, but not unwelcomed, surprise. The guy before her was, for lack of better words, gorgeous. Long, silver hair that fell down his back, golden eyes that she could easily get lost in, and…were those dog ears? Her body moved of its own accord. She had to find out if they were as soft as they looked. Reaching out, she grasped the small, twitching, animal-like features he sported. "Ka-Kagome…? What are you—doing?" Her fingers began rubbing slow, soft circles and he became rooted in place momentarily. Once regaining his senses, he knocked away her hands. "Stop that shit, will ya? And what the hell is wrong with you? You looked like you did the first day I met you; not that you've changed a whole lot. You're still as useless as before…"

Irritation overtook her senses causing her to strike out at him with a slap, though he moved too quickly to make contact. "What the hell do you mean useless?!" _Well, he_ was _attractive,_ mused Saya after she shouted at him.

"Feh" was the only response Saya received. She raised an eyebrow when he suddenly knelt before her.

"Um…?" He irritably told her to climb onto his back. She did so with vast amounts of hesitation. The speed at which he moved startled a squeak out of the girl. He increased his pace. They arrived in a village in no time and he unceremoniously deposited her onto the ground. "What the hell was that for?!"

"Kagome?" The question was followed by four heads popping out of the shack nearest them. One of the occupants (a young child with teal eyes and light auburn hair tied back with a blue bow and a fluffy, tan…was that a tail?) ran up to her and buried himself into her chest. The child gave a tearful "I've missed you" while the others gathered around Saya.

There were two others that seemed around her age. _Finally_ , Saya thought as she looked at them, _normal people! Though their clothes are a little out of date…_ One was a male in purple monk robes, though the black hair pulled into a low ponytail was anything but normal for monks. The other was a female with black hair tied back with a white ribbon at the bottom outfitted in pink traveling robes. The last was a miko—a _very_ old miko. Other exclamations similar to the child's were heard from the two younger members of the group.

Saya looked around in shock and confusion. She knew that she looked similar to her mother, but this was starting to become ridiculous! She decided to put a stop to it as she stood (causing the young child to jump down and scurry to the monk) and exclaimed, "My name is not Kagome! I'm Saya! SA-YA."

"What the hell do you mean your name's not Kagome?" the silver-haired male demanded.

"I mean just that," Saya said irritably, crossing her arms over her chest.

He turned to the elderly miko and demanded to know what was going on. "This better not be another damned reincarnation, Kaede," he added after a pause.

The elderly woman slowly shook her head. "No, this is not another reincarnation. She does possess an aura similar to that of Kagome-sama and my sister, but it is decidedly different."

Saya huffed and explained, "That's what I've been trying to tell ya! I'm not Kagome; I'm Saya. Kagome is my mother's name."

Everyone froze, and the tension skyrocketed. A thick, choking silence permeated the area as those that surrounded the young Hojo glanced at each other. The attention of the group slowly began to shift from Saya and each other onto the silver-haired man. "Inuyasha…?" the girl wearing pink ventured a tentative question. The silver-haired male said nothing but turned on his heel and stormed out of the village, up the path, and into the forest. Saya, after a quick glance, followed.

~x~

Inuyasha muttered curse after curse on his way back toward the well. His mind was racing with thoughts about what he had just been told. The girl had not been Kagome after all, but was her daughter. Her daughter! Inuyasha's mind almost refused to think upon that matter, though a small and twisted part of his brain began to wonder who the girl's father was. He quickly realized it did not matter. Realization dawned on him when he took account of where he was. Without giving much thought to it, he hopped into the well.

~x~

Saya watched as Inuyasha hopped into the well that brought her into this world. She heard no sounds coming from the well after a couple of seconds and crept up to peer inside. Empty. Shrugging, she hopped in as well.

The wind rustled the leaves of the trees surrounding the area as sapphire eyes gazed at the dry well. A single word was heard as the two figures disappeared into its depths: "Oops." The silhouette of a female disappeared as quickly as she had appeared.

On the other side of the well, Saya clamored out with enough time to see Inuyasha take off out of the well house and into the main house. Saya followed much more slowly after the irritated hanyou. A vague feeling of another presence near her brought Saya to her senses and she exited the well house and turned directly into her mother's arms.

"Mamma!" The two women began to cry as they held onto each other, each scared for different reasons.

"Saya!" Relief was evident in her voice as Kagome tightly held onto her daughter. (Saya's mind registered Inuyasha stop and stand in the doorway, but she could not be bothered to legitimately give him enough attention. She was simply too happy and relieved to be back where she belonged.) "Are you okay? Are you hurt?" Kagome began to fuss over Saya as any mother does, checking the well-being of her beloved daughter.

"I'm fine, Mamma. A little freaked out, but fine." A sad smile passed over Kagome's face.

"I would assume so." She turned her head to face the person approaching. "Hello, Inuyasha."

* * *

 _And there you have it! The first chapter of my Inuyasha story. Let me know what you thought of it via reviews! The next chapter will hopefully be posted in another two weeks. I just have to make sure that I finish the chapter I'm working on and edit everything. Happy readings! ~Saph_


	2. Chapter 2: Unsettling News

_Responses to reviews:_

 ** _GuardianGirl24:_** _Thank you! :D_

 ** _Random:_** _Well, thank you very much! I'm glad you enjoy this story that much! :)_

 ** _Timewriter:_** _But of course I know who this is! :P I'm glad you decided to reread it. It makes me happy. :3 Thanks again, Twin! :D_

 ** _Fanficqueen306:_** _I am not going to say that he is in love with her. He cares for her, but he hadn't gotten to know her all that well, so no. He is not and will not be in love with Kagome. This story does take place after episode 31. They hadn't been together all that long. :P Thank you for asking though!_

 ** _TheDoctorsTimeLady:_** _I'm glad that you enjoyed this story! Well, this chapter didn't come out very quickly after the first chapter, but now you can read what happens next! :D_

 _ **YaoiLovinKitsune:**_ _I'm sorry that you're dying, hopefully this revives you! XD_

 _Thank you everyone for your reviews, and I hope you enjoy this next chapter!_

* * *

The stare-off between Inuyasha and her mother lasted for what seemed like an eternity to Saya. Finally, the silence was broken with a single word, though the tension only seemed to increase: "Kagome." The way Inuyasha had spoken her mother's name made Saya slightly uncomfortable.

Saya was about to speak to (hopefully) break the tension when movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. Turning her head, Saya saw her friend's, Hikari, head peaking over the top of the stairs. Her black hair was twisted into a knot at the back of her head like usual. Her bright, blue highlights stood out and made her distinguishable no matter the setting. Once her head breached the top of the stairs and into Saya's sight completely, Hikari's bright blue eyes smiled warmly upon sighting her. With one last quick glance at her mother and Inuyasha, Saya jogged up to greet Hikari as she finished climbing the stairs toward the shrine.

"Hey, Hikari-chan. What brings you here today?" Hikari's eyes flickered to Kagome and Inuyasha standing together a distance away before turning her full attention onto her friend and smiling.

"You weren't at school today, so I came by to check on you. Well, Ayano-chan and I did, but she's still far behind me." Saya glanced down the stairs to see Ayano a little ways down, just standing and continuing her trek up the stairs once again. Saya chuckled a little at her friend's expense.

"Yeah, sorry about that. Something came up suddenly, and I found that I just couldn't make it to school." Saya sent a grateful smile Hikari's way. "Thanks for coming to check on me." Ayano finally managed to make her way up to the top of the stairs; she then proceeded to sit on the ground to recover her breath. Saya chuckled and walked up to her. "You okay, Ayano-chan?"

The girl nodded, her chestnut colored hair shifting with the movement. When she lifted her head, her blue-green eyes possessed a look of exasperation within them. "I'm all for working out, but that," she indicated the stairs that lie behind her, "was _way_ too much cardio." The other girls laughed at their friend's despair. Saya invited the girls to come into her room (Kagome's old room) to give the girls—mainly Ayano—a chance to sit down and recover before having to descend the stairs ("you mean hell" chimed in Ayano) once again; doing so would also give her mother and Inuyasha space to talk without too much attention being drawn their way.

The three girls made their way into Saya's room and started to chat about how school was and what all Saya had missed. The time was passed with laughter, teasing, embarrassment, and intrigue.

~x~

Inuyasha stared at Kagome for a while after the girl left. His mind was slow to process the fact that the woman standing before him was Kagome. She looked like her mother. Kagome's hair seemed to be about the same length, though he could not be certain, as her hair was piled onto her head in a bun. Her face looked older; though, now that he looked at her closely, he could easily distinguish that she was Kagome. Time had passed, that much he could tell.

"Inuyasha?" Her voice snapped him out of his thoughts, and he looked at her with curiosity. "Shall we head inside? I think you might want to sit down when we talk about all that has happened and what should happen next." Her voice held small amounts of caution and wariness as she spoke to him, but still hospitable.

Once settled, Inuyasha looked at her and asked what was going on. A small, sad smile passed over her face. He noticed that she wasn't as expressive with her emotions as she once had been. "Forgive me if I don't seem happy to see you. I am simply surprised that you are here now. I haven't seen you in thirty years, and I thought I never would again."

"Is that girl really your daughter?" He had blurt out the question; he had to know, without a doubt, that the girl had not been lying and was Kagome's daughter. He realized after the question had been asked that he could have been more tactful or at least waited a bit to ask, but he had to know. Kagome nodded the affirmative.

"Yes, Saya is my daughter. I am now a happily married woman with two, beautiful children."

"Two?!"

Another sad smile. "Yes, I have a son as well, Daichi. He should be home with my husband here shortly," she added after a quick glance at the clock that rested upon the wall. She stared at him for a short while; he shifted uncomfortably. When she spoke at last, his ears nearly pinned themselves to his head. Her voice held so many emotions: hurt, confusion, loneliness, and a desperate need to understand. "Where have you been all these years? I tried to return that day, but I couldn't. What happened?"

He was silent for a moment to gather his thoughts. "I really don't understand it much myself. We were standing there one second fighting against Naraku, miasma surrounded us, and then we found ourselves thirty years in the future." He shrugged.

Kagome hummed in thought. "I wonder why I wasn't able to return just because you all were gone." She hummed in thought once again. The question was left unanswered. Noise was heard, causing Inuyasha's ears to twitch. Both shifted their attention to the three younger females descending the stairs.

~x~

Saya laughed at Ayano's embarrassment as said girl spoke, "I still can't believe he did that. Doesn't he have enough commonsense or couth to wait until we were alone to do that sort of thing?" Her face was slightly flushed with embarrassment. According to Hikari, a guy that really liked Ayano for a while got it in his head that he wanted to profess his undying love for her—in front of a hallway full of students. Ayano was still mortified thinking about it. Saya had to snicker at her friend's expense.

"It appears not," Hikari said soothingly. Ayano asked why these sort of things had to happen to her. A similar situation happened the year before with another guy. Another time, a female had professed, though that had been in private.

"It's because you're so physically attractive, and your personality is charming as well," said Saya as they walked down the stairs. Ayano proceeded to curse her attractiveness. Hikari and Saya laughed at her antics. Once they reached the bottom of the stairs, Ayano seemed to remember something and began to dig around in her bag.

"Here, these are for you." Ayano handed Saya a small stack of notebooks and papers. "The homework you missed and the notes from today. You can copy mine and then give them back to me later." Saya thanked her friend and crushed her in a hug, causing the chestnut-haired girl to laugh. The girls continued outside, and Saya stuck a quick glance at her mother and Inuyasha, who were, thankfully, partially blocked from view. Ayano turned to Hikari. "Shall we, Hikari-chan?"

Hikari smiled a little before saying, "Why don't you go on ahead? I have something that I would like to talk to Saya about quickly, and by the time I finish, we should end up descending the stairs at the same time." Ayano stuck her tongue out at her friend, but did not contradict her.

Once Ayano was far enough away, Hikari looked at Saya with concern. "Are you sure you are alright?"

Saya smiled reassuringly. "Yes, I'm fine now. I wasn't earlier, but now I am. Thank you for checking." Hikari nodded after a pause and then bid Saya farewell. "I'll see you tomorrow!" Saya turned away to enter the main house once Hikari had disappeared under the line of stairs.

Upon entering, Kagome motioned for her to take a seat. "We all need to talk about what needs to happen from here." Nodding her head slowly, Saya took a seat nearest her mother; she still did not know what to think of Inuyasha. Saya questioned what there was to talk about. "Well, I'm sure you are confused as to what happened with the well. I think it is time that I explained everything to you, and about a bit of my past that now seems to be your future.

"When I was around the age of fourteen, I was pulled into the shrine's well and transported through time into the Feudal Era. Please, don't interrupt me, Saya," Kagome said as Saya opened her mouth. "I will explain everything to you if you are quiet and listen to what I have to say." Saya nodded her head and sank back into the chair with her arms crossed. Smiling at her daughter's behavior, Kagome continued her story. "The well behind this house acts as a portal between this time and the Feudal Era of Japan. It is there that I met and released Inuyasha from his imprisonment. The story behind that is too long so it will have to wait for another time.

"Anyway, while I was in Feudal Japan, I found that there was a jewel embedded within my body—the Shikon no Tama. Shards of which are currently within your possession. The reason behind the jewel shattering was because of me. Long story short: I shattered the jewel with an arrow.

"The Shikon no Tama was then scattered across the country, and it was my mission to collect the shards before they were used for malicious purposes by those seeking to abuse the power of the Shikon no Tama—mainly from one demon in particular named Naraku.

"Naraku is the demon behind the majority, if not all, the trouble and pain that has happened within our group of companions. We are all united in the common goal of defeating Naraku and enacting revenge upon him for what he's done to everyone and those closest to us. However, not long after we began and collected some shards, everyone disappeared and I could not return to the Feudal Era.

"Thirty years have passed since then, and now the burden of collecting and purifying the Shikon no Tama falls onto your shoulders, Saya. I am sorry that my burden is now yours to bear, but I know that you will not be alone. There is Inuyasha, who will help you. There are also others to help as well: Sango, a demon slayer that joined our group because her brother was controlled by Naraku and forced to kill her family; Kirara, Sango's two-tailed cat demon; Miroku, a lecher of a monk whose ancestors have been cursed with a sort of black hole in their right hand by Naraku; and Shippo, a young fox demon who tagged along with us because his family was killed by two demons who had possessed some Shikon no Tama fragments. Kaede is the final person who—Inuyasha, _is_ Kaede still alive?"

Inuyasha nodded. "Yeah, the old hag hasn't died yet. I don't know how, but she's still around."

Nodding, Kagome resumed her explanation, "Kaede is the miko that will more than likely help train you in ways that I have not and could not because of my ignorance of the subjects. You must be able to work with everyone to collect the remaining shards and stop Naraku from essentially destroying the world as we know it."

Saya was about to speak when the door slid open, and her father walked in with Daichi in tow. "I'm home!" Hojo looked in the sitting area and was surprised to see his wife, daughter, and a strange boy in even stranger clothing. "Oh, there you are." His surprise quickly vanished as he smiled at his wife before walking up to her and gently kissing her cheek.

Saya smiled at the small display of affection from her father. She had always thought the two were cute and longed for a relationship like theirs. Daichi walked up to his sister and proceeded to climb into her lap without care or permission. He was a cute little boy with wild, dark brown hair and dark blue eyes like his father. Saya took after her mother with looks: long, wavy black hair and bright blue eyes.

Hojo turned to Inuyasha. "Are you a friend of Saya's?" He seemed to be around the same age as their daughter, so that had to be the only answer for his presence in the oldest Hojo's mind.

Before either Inuyasha or her mother could respond, Saya spoke up. "Yeah, he's from a group at school—really into cosplay and anime, which is why he's dressed the way he is."

Hojo nodded his head, accepting the explanation, before redirecting his attention to his wife. "Have you started on dinner yet?" Kagome shook her head. "Okay, I'll take care of it." He turned to Inuyasha, who was still silently glaring at Saya. "Will you be staying for dinner?" This surprised him, and he sat there for a second unsure what to say. He glanced at Kagome.

"I do believe he's going to be leaving soon, but thank you, dear." Nodding, the head of the house left the room to begin with his task. Kagome turned to her son where he sat in his sister's lap. "Why don't you go help Papa in the kitchen?" The young child grinned and hopped down before dashing into the kitchen.

Silence hung in the air for a short while before Saya cleared her throat. "So, I have to travel and collect and purify the shards. When do I need to begin this?"

"Right now! Naraku can't get—"

"Inuyasha." He fell silent and looked at Kagome when she had spoken calmly. He appeared to be awaiting a brutal storm. Saya failed at the half-hearted attempt of hiding her amused smile but quickly returned her attention to her mother when she resumed speaking. "The hunt has waited thirty years, and while I'm sure that Naraku has gotten unbelievably strong, he cannot complete the jewel so long as Saya possesses the remaining pieces and keeps them here. Therefore, we can wait for Saya to graduate to begin the search for any remaining fragments." Inuyasha opened his mouth angrily to argue, but Kagome spoke before he could. "Until then, do what you must."

Inuyasha narrowed his golden eyes before gritting out, "When will that happen?"

"In a couple of weeks," spoke Saya, gaining Inuyasha's narrowed gaze. After a tense silence, the inu demon nodded stiffly before standing and taking his leave.

Saya walked into her room after dinner with her family. Inuyasha had returned to his time through the well, and Saya struggled to complete her homework and copy notes as memories continuously assaulted her mind and overtook the majority of her thought process. She would begin a journey that would last for only the gods knew how long, and she would have to work with strangers to accomplish the goal. The only good thing she saw from this was the fact that she would not have to worry about the journey and graduating from school at the same time. She was infinitely grateful for her mother for that very reason. Determination consumed the fear and unease in her eyes as she looked at the homework before her; she would not worry about her journey just yet. Right now, she had to focus on graduating!

She completed her homework in record time and decided to turn in for the night. Once her head hit the pillow, all thoughts, fears, or images of the day's events faded from her mind, and she was pulled into a blissful, dreamless sleep.

* * *

 _Author's Note:_

 _Thanks guys for reading! Let me know what you thought of this chapter via review! :3 Thanks ~Saph_


	3. Chapter 3: Genesis

_Responses to reviews:_

 _ **Fanficqueen306:** I can't wait either! Unfortunately, she doesn't happen in this chapter, but she does in the next one! Hope you can wait until then :3_

 _ **Timewriter:** I appreciate you not giving your fellow readers spoilers. :3 I'm sure they will too. XD Thank you, and I know you will; in fact, you did. XD_

 _ **MissKatress:** Thank you for enjoying my story so much! I hope this is worth your wait. :) I'll just have to let you wait and see what happens with the beads of subjugation. :3_

 _ **TheDoctorsTimeLady:** Well, hopefully this is worth your wait for this chapter. :) Thank you very much! :3_

 _ **Almondbutter:** Well, thanks! :3_

 _Thank you all for your reviews! I would also like to take a moment to thank my inspiration and beta, Timewriter, for helping me out with this chapter and the chapters to come! I didn't mention this before, but Hikari is Timewriter's OC that I have tweaked to make her fit into my story. Major props to her! Thank you all again for your support, and I hope everyone enjoys this chapter!_

* * *

The weeks until graduation slipped by at an alarming rate. On numerous occasions during the course of these weeks, Saya felt as though she would drown in homework, but Hikari and Ayano were kind enough to assist her; the trio seemed to spend a great deal of time at Saya's house while they tackled their assignments and final projects.

"Ayano-chan, what did you get for this problem? I feel like my answer is so far off, it could be in space…" Ayano laughed and looked over Saya's problem. "Thank you so much! You two are such life savers!" Ayano and Hikari smiled at their excited friend.

"Ne, Saya-chan, do you have any idea what you're going to be doing after we graduate?" Ayano asked. Saya's mind froze momentarily before she collected herself and faced her friend with a smile.

"I think I'm going to take some time off from school and help my mom with some things." Saya turned to Hikari. "Do you have any ideas, Hikari-chan?" The brunette smiled.

"I think I'm going to be traveling around for a while." Saya and Ayano sighed, suddenly envious of their friend.

"I wish I could travel," Ayano said with a dreamy look upon her face. Saya nodded in agreement; however she didn't comment since she would technically be traveling. She just didn't count it as so, because she'd be traveling in a different era and knew the reasons for travel differed between Hikari and herself.

After a moment of silence, Ayano interrupted it again, "Oh! Have either of you found a guy who sparks your interest?" Ayano's smile turned mischievous as she looked at her two girlfriends.

Saya shifted uneasily. "Well…there was this one guy…"

Ayano's face spilt into a large grin as she demanded to know all the details about him. She was always the one to be interested in her friends' love lives. "Who is he? What's he like? Is he cute? How long have you known—"

Hikari cut Ayano off by placing her hand over the bubbly girl's mouth. "Let her speak, Ayano-chan. She won't be able to get a word in if you keep asking her so many questions at once."

Ayano scratched her head sheepishly. "Right. So, what's he like?"

"He was attractive physically, but his personality…left something to be desired." _Not to mention he seemed to know my mom extremely well, and no need to mention I'm going to spend every moment with him after graduation_ , Saya added in her head.

Ayano hummed in thought. "How did he behave?"

"He was a real dick to me. Completely rude to not only me, but others as well. He didn't even respect his elders like he should!"

"Are you sure it's his true personality? Was he upset? What was his past like? Are you sure you're not just judging a book by its cover?" Saya stared at her friend in stunned silence. "What? I want to be a psychologist. It would be my job to look into things deeper than what's presented on the surface." Saya shook her head at her friend before glancing at Hikari to see a smile upon her face.

"What's up, Hikari-chan?"

Hikari shook her head, smile still in place. "It's nothing." Saya gazed at her friend before shrugging. The group continued to chat while they finished their homework, though Ayano's words had stuck a cord within Saya's mind. She would decipher things about Inuyasha later. He need not take up much of her thoughts while she still had assignments and projects to worry about.

The trio finished what was left of their homework at a decent pace. They spent the remainder of their time chatting. Saya walked her friends to the steps which led from the shrine once the afternoon began to fade.

"Ja ne! I'll see you guys tomorrow for our last day!" Saya called to Hikari and Ayano as they descended the steps. They waved and returned her words of departure. Once her friends had reached the bottom of the steps, Saya returned inside to await the arrival of her father and brother alongside her mother and helped prepare dinner for that night. The two worked in a relative silence until Kagome spoke.

"I can't believe you graduate in a couple of days. It seems like only a couple of weeks ago, you were born." Saya glanced at her mother while she chopped vegetables. Kagome's eyes saddened when she spoke again. "And after you graduate, you are going to start your journey with Inuyasha, Miroku, Sango, and Shippo. It's all happening so fast." Her mother turned her eyes in Saya's direction. "You'll be okay, you know that, right? Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku, and sometimes, even Shippo will protect and help you. You won't have to go through all of this alone. And if things get a little difficult, you start running out of supplies, or Inuyasha annoys you to no end, you can always come back here for a little bit." Saya cracked a smile at the last statement. "You're not alone in this, Sweetheart."

Kagome smiled and stopped what she was doing to embrace her daughter. Saya sighed, relief and a sense of calm washed over her. Saya always felt safe in her mother's arms. It was one of the best things she loved about her mother.

"Thank you, Mamma." The two smiled at each other before Kagome clapped her hands together.

"Alright! Shall we finish dinner before your father and Daichi get home?" Nodding with a smile, Saya returned to her task with renewed vigor.

Graduation day had finally arrived and passed by in a blur. Inuyasha arrived in morning, but Kagome convinced the irritable hanyou to wait until the following day to begin the journey. Inuyasha was allowed to join the family for Saya's graduation ceremony under the condition he would behave.

Saya was thankful the ceremony passed quickly and without incidents. She had once glanced toward her family and Inuyasha during the ceremony and saw the hanyou fidgeting and nervously glancing around him to the crowd which surrounded them. He did not seem to do well with enclosed spaces with lots of people. She made a mental note for the journey ahead of her before she had returned her attention to the speakers.

After the ceremony, Saya, Ayano, and Hikari left together to join their families outside the building. Kagome called them over for pictures. The trio of friends grinned as the accomplishment of graduation washed over the atmosphere while Kagome snapped away with her camera. While snapshots were taken, Saya glanced at the uncomfortable hanyou, who was standing off to the side, continuously shifting his gaze between all those around him. He seemed to be preparing for an attack that would never come.

Both Ayano and Hikari seemed to recognize Inuyasha from the short glimpse they had several weeks prior. Ayano glanced toward Saya and spoke through her smile.

"Isn't that the same guy who was at your house when you missed school?"

"Yeah, that's him," Saya replied reluctantly.

"Who is he?"

"Just a…friend of the family."

"You hesitated."

Saya sighed in relief as her mother finished taking pictures. Ayano turned toward her friend, "So, who is he really?" When Saya hesitated once again, Ayano grinned mischievously. "Is he the guy you were talking about? The one you thought was cute?" Saya saw Inuyasha's eyes flicker in her direction; she fought back a blush. Ayano seemed to notice her friend's discomfort and chuckled before dismissing herself to find her parents.

Saya turned to her remaining friend when Hikari asked to speak with her. Once the duo was a short distance from Saya's family, Hikari reached into the bag at her side and pulled out a small box. The box was black with a simple silver ribbon wrapped around and then tied into a bow on top. "This is for you."

Saya took the box carefully and began to slowly pull on the ribbon. Saya removed the lid and gasped at the object within. Inside was a _beautiful_ necklace. The pendant which hung from the silver chain was pale turquoise in color with its shape being that of an icicle crystal. The chain was long enough so the pendant could be easily concealed from view by hiding beneath her shirt. The details put into the bell cap were stunning. There were swirls, bumps and carved details; it looked far too delicate for Saya to wear.

Saya looked at Hikari in a mix of surprise and awe. "I-I couldn't possibly accept this. It looks far too valuable; besides, I'm likely to snap it to pieces without even trying! I'm pretty rough with my jewelry…" Hikari's laughter brought Saya to silence.

"I know how you are with jewelry. Don't you remember the last time you were wearing a necklace, and it suddenly snapped while you were with me?" Saya nodded, still shocked speechless at the gift in her hand. "I want to give it to you, and don't worry about the price: I made it myself. A couple friends of mine taught me how to make jewelry.

"It's something I want to give it to you. It's supposed to be a good luck charm…or was to be for protection?" She shook her head. "I suppose it doesn't matter." Saya opened her mouth to protest one last time. "Don't worry about how delicate it may seem; it's much more durable than it appears to be. Please, say you'll accept it?" After a moment's hesitation, Saya agreed. "Great!" Hikari hugged her friend and began walking away. "Oh, and Saya?" Saya looked at Hikari once again. "Please don't take it off." With a smile, Hikari left. Shrugging, Saya donned the necklace before she rejoined her family and Inuyasha.

The Hojos and Inuyasha departed shortly after goodbyes were exchanged, as well as promises to keep in touch. The return trip home seemed longer than the trip there, but it might have been because Saya was exhausted and hungry. Saya turned her head and saw Daichi was battling sleep on the shoulders of her father. "Mamma, do we know what dinner is? I'm starving." Kagome chuckled at her daughter before replying.

"Something it will be quick to fix. I think all of us are at least a little drained tonight." She glanced at Daichi with a smile as she spoke. Saya nodded and returned facing front. Stretching, Saya sighed in relief.

Kagome watched her daughter and smiled. Once she had become friends with Hikari and Ayano—especially Ayano—Saya had become more blunt and sarcastic than Kagome had ever been. Kagome snuck a glance at Inuyasha who walked silently next to her daughter. She was sure the two would get along nicely as time went on, and Inuyasha would learn to trust Saya, as well as the others.

Dinner was a quick ordeal that night. Inuyasha had been invited to stay the night (something which surprised both Saya and her father) so Inuyasha could take Saya back to the Feudal Era come morning. However, before that could happen, something had to be told to Hojo so he could understand, at least partially, what was going to happen to their daughter—Kagome felt Hojo had the right to know as Saya's father. Kagome sighed as she put Daichi to bed. It was bound to be an interesting night.

Kagome descended the stairs to find a relatively tense atmosphere surrounding the trio in the sitting room. Kagome sighed before sitting next to her husband and clearing her throat. It was now or never for bringing up what was going to happen with Saya.

"Honey, there's something you should know." Hojo looked at his wife curiously. Kagome decided in that moment the whole truth about what had happened with her in the past and what was to happen with Saya in the future would be shared with Hojo. "Do you remember in middle-school when I would constantly be sick?" Hojo nodded. He certainly remembered not being able to see her as much as he had liked and found the excuse of giving her traditional remedies worked out for him—he had married her after all.

"The thing is, dear, I'm actually a very healthy person—I'm sure you've noticed this since we've been married." The man was confused but nodded. "I wasn't sick all those times I missed school—I was traveling around with Inuyasha and a few of our friends from where he lives."

"Where exactly would that be?"

Kagome smiled a little nervously. "Feudal Japan." Hojo stared at his wife blankly.

"Papa, I know it sounds crazy, but it's true. I was pulled through the well few weeks ago. It was the day that I had missed school. The well is the portal that connects the two times." Hojo's eyes widened. "Mamma had been able to go back through time and battle demons and fight and protect people, but about thirty years ago, she couldn't return. Apparently, the well was unable to transport anyone through time until just recently—when I was taken through the well by a demon."

Hojo stood, his eyes wide with fear. "A _demon,_ " the worried father exclaimed.

Saya smiled. "I'm fine, Papa." She turned to Inuyasha who sat surprisingly quiet throughout the entire explanation. "Inuyasha saved me, actually. I would have been fine if I hadn't forgotten my bow and arrows," Saya added bitterly beneath her breath. Inuyasha quietly scoffed. Saya turned to the hanyou with a glare, which disappeared and was replaced with first surprise then amusement when Hojo grabbed onto Inuyasha's hand and shook it, professing his thankfulness at "saving his precious daughter." She shared an amused glance with her mother before Inuyasha snatched his hand back.

He turned his face away from Saya and muttered, "Feh, it was nothing." Kagome spoke again once her husband seated himself beside her once again.

"The reason we're telling you this, dear, is because…" Kagome trailed off when her husband turned to look at her. His eyes held fear within them.

"I'm going to be traveling around the country during the Feudal Era with Inuyasha and everyone there to defeat some big, bad dude that's threatening the lives of everyone and everything. If I understand everything correctly, unless we defeat this guy, everything as we know it could be changed, if not destroyed." Saya looked to her mother for conformation. Her mother nodded solemnly. Hojo jumped onto his feet and surprised both females in the room.

"No, no, no! Absolutely not! I forbid it! You could get hurt. Or worse! I refuse to allow you to go anywhere like that! It's not safe!" Kagome tried to jump in, to reassure her husband Saya would be safe with Inuyasha and their friends, but Hojo refused to listen and continued to rant, rave, and deny Saya permission to go.

"Listen, just because it ain't as safe as it is here, don't mean it ain't safe for her there! She'll have me and the rest us to protect her! It ain't like she's going there alone! I protect my comrades with my life! Her included. She ain't gonna die, so just shut up!" Inuyasha, apparently, had enough of Hojo's blabbering. The other three occupants of the room stared at Inuyasha in shock. Kagome was the first to recover.

"See, dear, she'll be fine. Inuyasha kept me alive, and I had been pretty useless at times. Saya isn't; she'll be fine." Inuyasha agreed Kagome was useless. Saya saw the vein on her mother's forehead begin to throb with agitation.

Kagome stood and pushed Inuyasha out the door before she spoke eerily calm, "Inuyasha, osuwari." The size of the crater which was created by the simple command amazed Saya.

"Dammit, wench! What the hell did I do?"

"Keep your voice down, Daichi is trying to sleep." Kagome turned on her heel and closed the door with a little more force than necessary. As Kagome returned her attention to those present, she noticed her daughter gaping at her.

"How did you do that to him, and is there any way that I could get to do that too?" Kagome's irritation slipped away like water off a duck's back at her daughter's comment. Kagome chuckled and replied she would have to ask Kaede to assist her with that endeavor.

The following morning arrived far too quickly for Saya's liking. Slowly, Saya crawled out of bed and began to search for an outfit which would be comfortable and durable to wear. She finally decided on jeans with deeper pockets than usual, a simple, lose-fitting blue-green tee, and tennis shoes. She pulled out a duffle bag from her closet and started putting outfits into it before realizing she would probably have to carry the thing around with her wherever she would go; she was sure there would also be a _lot_ of walking involved. She changed the duffle bag for a backpack she could still put a decent amount of her belongings in. She put in a number of comfortable shirts and several pairs of jeans. She also packed a few pairs of shorts. Before she left her room, she grabbed her bow and arrows and slung them onto her back. She walked into the bathroom and took out some bathroom necessities and placed them in the bag. She double-checked her belongings before she nodded and walked down the stairs. A smile stretched across her face at the smell of her mother's cooking as she descended the steps. Saya was going to miss her mother's cooking.

She walked into the kitchen and was greeted by her family. Daichi looked at Saya curiously. "Nee-chan, why do you have that bag on?" Saya smiled and knelt down before him before either of her parents could speak.

"I'm going to be going on a trip for a while. I'll be busy and won't be able to come back very much, but I'll be sure to come back and see you. Okay?" The little boy was quite attached to his older sister and began to cry, clutching onto her and refusing to let go. It was the scene Inuyasha walked in on when he entered the house.

"Nee-chan! Don't go!" The teary-eyed child reluctantly released his sister only when Kagome announced breakfast was done and if he didn't let go of her, he wouldn't get his favorite snack during the afternoon. Breakfast was a quiet ordeal that morning; even Inuyasha was quiet out of respect for the family, though Saya saw he was starting to drum his fingers on his leg as she was finishing her meal.

Saya put her dishes in the sink. She turned to her family, "I guess I'll see everyone later." She gave an awkward, sad smile and found herself enveloped in Kagome's arms. She returned her mother's embrace.

"Saya, I made and packed some extra food for everyone." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Inuyasha's ears twitch as he looked at Kagome. Kagome smiled. "I have some suckers and sweets for Shippo, some snacks, and some ramen. Inuyasha, you can't eat all of it—it's for everyone, not just you." Inuyasha's ears drooped slightly, making Kagome smile and chuckle a little.

"If you need anything, don't hesitate to come back here, okay? I love you, Saya. I know you'll be just fine." Kagome smiled and hugged her daughter one last time. "Good luck." Saya nodded and gave hugs to both her father and Daichi (whom Hojo had to pry off once again) before she turned to Inuyasha.

"Shall we?" He nodded. As the two exited the room, Kagome called out to Inuyasha. He turned to look at her.

"I know I don't have to tell you, but _please_ , keep her safe. For me." Inuyasha nodded slowly at the sight of Kagome's tear-filled eyes before he turned and followed Saya out of the house and to the well house. He looked at the girl when she took a deep breath.

"So, how do I do this? I was kinda dragged there last time…" Inuyasha rolled his eyes and grabbed the girl by the backpack, lifted her up, and dropped her into the well. She let out a shriek before she disappeared into said well. He followed after her.

When he reappeared beside her, she glared at him. "You didn't have to do that, ya know! You could have just told me all I had to do was jump into it, ya jackass." He scoffed at her, saying it was easier that way. "I'm sure it was—for you!" Saya sat there grumbling to herself for a moment before she noticed Inuyasha seemed to be waiting for her to stand. When she did, he told her to get on his back.

"We'll get to the village faster this way. The sooner we can get moving, the better." Saya nodded and climbed onto his back. In one smooth leap, they were out of the well and dashing toward the village she had been in once before. In the short amount of time it took Inuyasha to get them to their destination, Saya thought about how she would go about telling the other people—Miroku, Sango, and Shippo, Saya remembered their names and descriptions during her mother's explanations—what was going to happen. The huts came into view far faster than Saya wished. She was exceedingly nervous about meeting the others; she understood she had seen them all once before, but they had thought she was her mother. This time, they would know who she was, and the thought seemed far more intimidating than her exams had been days prior.

Inuyasha stopped in front of the hut that housed the others and let her down. She appreciated the niceness of letting her down instead of simply dropping her like a sack of potatoes as he had the last time. She stood before the hut and took a deep breath. "Hurry it up, wench. Just get inside." A vein appeared on Saya's forehead, and she turned toward Inuyasha slowly.

"What did you just call me?" Her tone was calm, but the ire dancing within her eyes indicated her mood was anything but. Before she could do anything in retaliation to Inuyasha's words, the flap to the hut moved and the occupants spilled outside. The demon slayer and her neko, the monk, the young kit, and the miko exited the residence and looked at Saya with a mixture of surprise and recognition. The young woman was the first to speak.

"You're…Kagome's daughter, correct? What did you say your name was?" Saya turned her attention from the irritating hanyou toward the woman; the ire instantly disappeared and was quickly replaced with nervousness.

"Saya. Hojo Saya. You're Sango-san, right?" The woman smiled a little stiffly and nodded. Saya smiled a little relieved. "I thought so. Mamma described you perfectly. So you all must be Miroku-san, Shippo-chan, and Kaede-sama." Each nodded in turn. Saya looked at the small neko resting upon Sango's shoulder. "That must be Kirara." The neko mewled cutely, causing Saya s smile to take on a more natural feel to it. Shippo stared at Saya for a while then sniffed the air.

"Do you-do you have candy?" A surprised bubble of laughter escaped from Saya. She set her bag down to pull out the sweet treat for the child. Once a green sucker had been found, Saya extended it for him to retrieve; he did so quickly before returning to Miroku's side. Her smile suddenly became strained. _How am I supposed to work with them if they don't accept and learn to trust me?_ Miroku seemed to sense Saya's tenseness as he spoke up.

"We apologize, Saya-chan, but we, too, are trying to adjust to all the changes that have happened in our absence—especially the fact that you are Kagome-sama's child." He paused for a moment. "You are indeed quite beautiful enough to be Kagome-sama's daughter." He walked up to her and took her hand. "Do you think you would do me the favor of bearing me a son?" Saya blinked a couple of times.

"You're serious?" Saya sighed. "Mamma described you perfectly as well. 'Lecher of a monk' I believe was her description." She looked at him and took back her hand. "I suggest you refrain from asking such a thing from me again unless you find yourself willing to depart from the very thing which will _allow_ you to reproduce." The man before her blanched slightly and took a step back while muttering an affirmative. The restrained laughter from Sango made Saya return her attention to her and give a grin. A little more laughter made its way out of the woman. Saya's attention was diverted from Sango when Kaede slowly stepped forward.

Saya bowed out of respect and looked back at the elderly woman who smiled a little. "You are indeed Kagome's daughter. I do have to ask you how much you know about what has happened and what you are capable of doing."

All joking and playfulness disappeared as she talked to the old woman. "Mamma explained to me everything that has happened."

"I see you have a bow and arrows. You've been taught how to use them?"

"I've been taking archery lessons since I was small; Mamma made sure of it. Now I know why," responded Saya with a shrug. Kaede nodded.

"You also possess the powers of a miko. They are untrained, but they are present." Kaede turned toward the rest of the group. "She is capable of filling Kagome's place."

A strained smile wheedled its way onto Saya's face. Every single person seemed dead-set on comparing Saya to her mother. She tried to push the glum thought away. As she turned, a glint of purple on Inuyasha's person reminded Saya of something she desired to learn from the elderly miko. As the group returned inside the hut to gather their belongings, Saya spoke with Kaede.

"Kaede-sama, I would like help with something. Is there any way I could learn how to make one of those necklaces that's around Inuyasha's neck that I can use? Mamma told me the one around his neck currently only works for her. I feel like I'm going to need it in the future…" The girl trailed off as the older woman began to chuckle.

"Yes, child, I will help you make one. Inuyasha certainly needs someone around who can rein in his behavior. Kagome had a difficult time even with the beads of subjugation." Saya asked how long they would take to make. "Not long."

"Could we make them before we left?"

Kaede smiled. "Perhaps."

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 _Well, there you have it! The end of the third chapter to A Ripple in Time. I hope you all enjoyed! Let me know what you thought of it, and if you saw anything that could use improvement, let me know via review! Thanks again! Until next time! ~Saph_


	4. Chapter 4: Haru of the Yoro Clan

_I'm so sorry that it took so long to update this! I was preoccupied with some things. I apologize. Anyway, time to get going._

 _Responses to reviews:_

 _ **YaoiLovinKitsune:** I'm glad the chapter made you giggle :P_

 _ **Almondbutter:** I can't tell you. :X Spoilers :P_

 _ **Fanficqueen306:** I assure you nothing nefarious is happening with the necklace her friend gave her. :)_

 _ **Timewriter:** Of course I had to mention you! YAY! _

_And now, onto the story!_

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Saya tried repressing her grin as she followed the sulking, irritated hanyou. By making the subjugation beads—Kaede had taught her how—she stalled the group's progress. Well, in order for progress to be made, they had to have left first, which they hadn't. Saya was still surprised she managed to get the beads onto Inuyasha. The young female had Kaede to thank.

Inuyasha had not spoken to her since receiving his new necklace, which was over an hour ago by her estimate. She subconsciously brought out her cell phone to check the time. She didn't know why she brought it with her—it wasn't like she could use it here. Force of habit was her guess. Shrugging, Saya replaced the electronical device in her pocket before she glanced around to take in her surroundings as she walked at the back of the pack—she had not felt it to be her place to walk ahead of anyone, so she allowed herself to bring up the rear.

Inuyasha broke his silence later to ask if she sensed any shards nearby. Saya momentarily gazed at him blankly (the duration of which a vein was made prominent on the upper left side of his forehead) before she surveyed the area that surrounded them in detail. They currently walked along a path that forked to take them through a wooded area or through a plain. A nagging feeling in the corner of her mind told her to go with the path through the wooden area. She redirected her attention back toward the impatient hanyou. "I think we should go that way," said Saya as she indicated the direction by pointing.

"I ain't askin' ya where you think we should go. I'm askin' if ya sense a shard or not."

Saya shrugged. "I couldn't exactly tell you if I do or not; it's not like I've ever had to sense one before. However, I do have this nagging feeling that we should go that way. If that means there are shards in that direction, then so be it. But, like I said, I've never actually had to sense them."

"Then what good are ya?" the irritated hanyou exclaimed thoughtlessly. Bright blue eyes darkened with a mixture of annoyance and hurt. The insecurities she tried to brush off throughout the journey thus far rushed to forefront of her mind.

"Gee, I don't know. Maybe I shouldn't even be here, and I'll just let all of you take care of everything. Oh, hey, while I'm at it, why don't I just go back to my time and get my _mother_ to come back here to help you guys because you all seem to prefer her over me—oh right! She can't." Her tone turned venomous as she finished her tirade. Saya pushed her way through the group and walked toward the woods; an aura of annoyance seemed to surround her—Miroku, Sango, and Shippo could almost see it as they watched her form march its way toward the thickets.

"Inuyasha, perhaps it would be wise to _not_ irritate the person that is supposed to help us find the remaining jewel shards—no matter how few there are," spoke the monk with a hint of exasperation within his tone before he followed after the irate girl, hoping to quell her anger. Sango and Shippo followed the monk. Inuyasha growled before following his comrades. _They always take the girls' sides_ , thought Inuyasha irritably.

Saya stomped her way through the deer trails. She was sure there were animals running from her as she made her way through the thickets like a lumbering troll; normally she would have been quieter as to see them, but at the moment, she couldn't be bothered. So it came as a surprise when a small flash of white followed by two larger blurs of color dashed before her on the path. A tugging sensation in her heart caused her to follow the blurs at a run. She heard Sango and Miroku call out to her, telling her to stop; that it was dangerous to simply run off, but she ignored them, pursuing the white blur further into the thickets. She distantly heard them pursue her.

Saya soon discovered the white blur to be a fox whose fur had some sort of dark residue and blood splotched across the pure white surface. It seemed to be huddled in a protective shell atop something while the two larger animals approached it. The fox collapsed as Saya arrived. She saw the two animals drawing nearer to the debilitated kitsune. Saya fitted her bow with an arrow before she took aim; the arrow hit the ground directly beside one of the approaching animals. She fitted another arrow as the duo turned toward her, growling. The animals were two tan wolves.

"Get moving!" She pulled the bow taunt in preparation of loosing another arrow. The two beasts' ears became alerted of the group heading in their direction. They seemed to weigh their options before growling but slowly backing away. Saya stood still momentarily before she relaxed, replaced her bow and arrow, and ran toward the fox, retrieving her arrow along the way. She knelt before the fox as the group arrived.

"Saya-chan! What happened?" Miroku asked, but Shippo appeared next to her. His teal eyes gazed sorrowfully upon the fallen animal.

"She's dying. She isn't going to be around much longer." The sad tone made Saya look at the child.

"It's a female?" Shippo nodded, his face tightening. Saya could see tears beginning to well up in his eyes.

"She's a mamma. She's dying because she protected the only kit that's still alive. All the others were already killed." Shippo sniffled after his explanation. Saya saw the child rubbing at his eyes with his sleeve out of the corner of her eye while she observed the dying animal before her; she began to look for signs of a kit but found none. She was about to ask where the pup was when Shippo spoke again, this time looking at Saya with widened eyes. "She wants you to take care of her baby. It's beneath her. She said because you stepped in to intervene and protect her from the wolves, she could trust you to care for it. Will you?"

Shocked, Saya gazed into the fox mother's eyes. She seemed to be pleading with Saya to take care of her pup, her baby, to protect it, to raise it, and everything that being a mother entailed. Saya gulped. She knew she wanted to be a mother eventually, but to be one so suddenly—even if it was just to a pup—seemed to be a big responsibility, but by looking at the mother, Saya felt she needed to do this. She nodded her head with a reassuring expression that she would do everything in her power to protect and raise the pup.

The mother fox shakily stood; a small, white bundle of fur was nestled beneath. Saya instantly took the pup and placed it against her chest with one hand. With the other, she hesitantly reached out to stroke the fur of the dying animal. The grown fox collapsed; the last of her strength leaving her. The mother relaxed before licking Saya's hand. The girl bit her lip momentarily in deliberation before she placed her hand beneath the belly of the fox and moved her as gently as she could to where the head was placed upon Saya's lap. She continued to stoke the fox's fur until its life left its body. The only consolation was the fact the dead mother looked to be at peace. Saya took a deep breath and closed her eyes to keep from shedding tears before she gently removed the corpse's head. The corpse. Saya couldn't believe that something still so warm was now reduced to nothing but a corpse. Gently shaking her head of those thoughts, and wiping away some escaped tears, she stood on trembling legs. After taking a deep breath, she approached the group, doing her best not to show how affected she was. She needed to keep her composure in case these new comrades didn't approve of her keeping the little fox.

"I know it's just a fox, but do you…do you guys think we could do something so its body isn't feasted upon?" The three people before her stared, but when she thought they would do nothing, Miroku stepped forward with a sympathetic smile.

"Shall we?" A relieved smile passed over her lips as Sango also stepped forward. Nodding, the three set to work burying the body while Shippo held the small, sleeping kit. A short while later, the group returned to the path and resumed their journey. Saya looked at the resting bundle in her arms. It was wrapped in a spare towel she had placed in her bag. Saya knew the kit would need something to eat when it awoke, but hadn't the slightest inkling what it would eat. A sudden weight on her shoulder alerted her that Shippo had decided to ride upon her shoulder instead of Miroku's. Interesting. Saya turned her eyes toward the small fox demon and found his undivided attention was on the slumbering form in her arms.

"She's just like me now." The words were spoken quietly, but Saya still caught them. The simple statement tore at her heart. Saya remembered the description of Shippo's story; one that still saddened the girl by simply thinking about it.

"Will you help me with her? I know she's going to need to eat soon, but I don't know what I could possibly give her." The request seemed to startle the boy.

"R-really? You-want _my_ help?" Saya nodded with a smile. The grin that sprouted on the young demon's face made Saya's smile widen in response. "Well, she looks like she's old enough to be able to eat actual food, not just her mother's milk." Saya sighed with relief; that had been something she had been worried about. It also brought up another question.

"What would she eat, then?"

Shippo looked thoughtful, "She'd probably be able to eat smaller portions of what we eat." Saya smiled and mentally translated his statement to vegetation and meat. She doubted the kit would be able to eat something like ramen. The thought almost made her giggle aloud.

The band of comrades walked within the wooded area without further incident and decided to stop for lunch when a clearing appeared. Saya looked around as each person automatically went to a task. Inuyasha and Miroku seemed to be going off on their own while Sango started to gather wood from nearby trees; Shippo assisted her by gathering twigs. Unknowing of what she should do, Saya asked Sango.

"Oh, Kagome-chan always prepared the food once Inuyasha and Hoshi-sama brought the water and Shippo and I got the wood." Saya nodded before sitting down to await the return of the males. While she waited, she removed her bag and took inventory the food her mother had packed for her. Inside was a decent amount of ramen (more than she would have expected) and ingredients for healthy meals. She turned toward Sango.

"I'm thinking for lunch my mother would make ramen?" Sango nodded. "I figured. She packed a lot for me. I also figure that Inuyasha would be impatient and would want to get back to traveling as soon as possible." Sango nodded with a smile.

"You seem to understand him well enough for being around him such a short amount of time."

"Well, he is a guy—and impatient. It's not too difficult to put two and two together, at least for me. I mean, some girls are clueless when it comes to guys, but thanks to one of my friends, who told me all the secrets of the male mind, I'm not." She offered a small laugh at the end. Sango smiled a little in return. "Hey, I'm sorry that I'm not my mother and that I'm still new to things, but I'm going to try to pick up her slack as best I can." A small smile stretched Sango's lips while she shook her head.

"It is not your fault. I apologize for instantly comparing you to Kagome-chan." She was quiet for a beat. "It is strange to think that you are her daughter. It was only a few weeks for us to have last seen her, but thirty years have passed since she has last seen us. It is a strange thing, indeed." After another pause, Sango added with a reassuring smile, "I suppose this is how Inuyasha must have felt after Kagome-chan released him from the Sacred Tree." Saya smiled lightly, but before she could speak, the pup in her arms stirred. The females' attention was redirected toward the moving animal. Kirara approached the baby fox to sniff it when the pup began whining.

"She's hungry," Sango said as she watched the pup squirm. Saya turned to dig around in her bag before pulling out some cut vegetables and holding it before the kit. She sniffed it and took one of them from Saya's hand, nearly nipping her finger in the process. A bubble of laughter spilled out of Saya's lips as she watched the fox devour the vegetables.

"What's so amusing, Saya-chan?" Miroku appeared near her. He leaned over to examine the feeding fox; a smile found its way upon his lips as well. "Ah, she sure seems hungry, doesn't she?" Another giggle accompanied Saya's nod before she returned her attention to the people surrounding her.

"Ramen okay?"

"You mean your ninja food?" Shippo piped in. Saya found the name to be highly amusing and displayed such amusement with more bubbles of laughter.

"Sure, my ninja food." The boys built the fire and Saya set to work boiling some water from a pot her mother gave her. As Saya waited for the water to boil, she idly began to wonder if the bag had a spell on it to allow more room or if her mother was extremely gifted in packing things to achieve the optimum capacity. She reasoned it to be the latter. Saya poured the water into each container of ramen and distributed them amongst the group, saving the last one for herself. While she ate her ramen, Saya fed the pup bits of vegetables until it had its fill, lying its head down and slowly slipping into slumber once again. Saya quickly finished her food and began to pick up the miniature campsite while Miroku, Sango, and Shippo finished their food. Inuyasha had long since finished his, having scarfed it in what seemed to be one bite. Saya was still slightly amazed at the feat. He had disappeared after to scout ahead.

As Sango finished her food, she looked at the sleeping pup in Saya's lap once the girl had resumed her spot beside the demon slayer. "Have you thought of a name for her? After all, she is in your care now."

Saya gazed at the white fox in her lap. "Yue." It seemed to fit with the color of her fur—as white as the moon. Sango nodded with a smile.

"Time to get going. I wanna get to the other side of these trees before night fall," ordered Inuyasha as he returned.

Everyone nodded and began to pack what was left. The travelers continued their journey once they finished. Inuyasha took lead with Miroku while Sango and Shippo stayed back to remain with Saya; a fact that brought comfort and a small smile to her face. At least things were beginning to improve within the group where Saya was concerned. Minute amounts of small talk commenced as Inuyasha and the rest continued their journey—mainly stemming from Sango and Saya; Shippo jumped in with the occasional comment or two.

The companions continued their trek through the woods. As they walked, Saya began to feel an odd sensation that grew stronger the more time passed. She stopped walking and turned toward her right.

"What's wrong, Saya-chan?" Sango asked as she, too, stopped. The males ahead of them ceased walking to turn toward the female in question.

"I have an odd feeling, and it's getting stronger. I think it's coming from that direction…" Saya trailed off as something drew her attention from within the woods. A swirling column of air made its way through the trees at an alarming rate, and the wind picked up speed around the group as the whirlwind drew closer. Kirara became engulfed in flames for a split second before a larger form stood before Sango, who gripped onto the large neko and turned to grab Saya and Shippo. Inuyasha withdrew his sword and embedded it within the ground to keep him from moving, while Miroku did the same with his staff. Sango's grip on Saya began to loosen.

"Hold on, Saya-chan!" Saya tightened her grip on Sango and Yue as much as she could without hurting either. Right as Saya was losing grip again, the wind slowly died down. Saya released her grip on Sango, and took a step back, only to feel a body collide with hers, knocking her away from the group with a shout.

Saya clenched her eyes tightly and tightened her grip reflexively on Yue as she flew through the air. She felt something warm wrap around her torso and felt herself being forced to skid to a halt. Opening her eyes, she found a pair of blue-green ones staring back at her. A blush fought its way to the surface across the bridge of her nose and cheeks. The owner of the blue-green eyes took a step back, withdrawing his arm from around her waist. He looked away from her as he spoke.

"Sorry, I don't know what came over me. My legs just suddenly seemed to have a mind of their own. You okay?" Saya nodded and took a step back as well. That instant was when her companions caught up to them, pointing their weapons toward the male before Saya.

"Who are you? Why did you attack us?" Miroku spoke, though Saya could see Inuyasha tightening his grip on the hilt of Tetsusaiga. The attacker turned away from Saya to face Miroku. Saya, then, was able to take in the details of the being before her. He had black hair pulled into a high ponytail by a brown cord. There was a plate of armor across his chest, but the rest of his body was covered in fur. There was a brown tail that swished as he stood facing the people before him. He wore no shoes. Saya blinked as she caught sight of a pale pink glow on each of his legs beneath the tan fur. Saya closed her eyes, shook her head to clear it, and then reopened her eyes to still see the pale pink glow. _Okay, so I'm not imagining it._

"The name's Haru; I'm the second in command for the Yoro Clan—the first being my father, Koga. What are you doing here?"

"Why did you attack Saya-san?" Haru turned to Saya.

"So that's your name? Nice name for a pretty face." Saya raised an eyebrow at his smirking expression. Instantaneously, his teasing expression vanished as he jumped a distance away. He gazed at the group with a malicious glint in his eyes. "Now, who was the one that attacked my wolves?"

Saya raised both eyebrows at his sudden change in mood before she realized what he had just said. _I didn't_ attack _them; I threatened. There were no injuries._ Her mood shifted toward the foul side of annoyance. He turned his attention toward her.

"It was you, wasn't it?" He sighed. "That's a shame. I hate killing pretty faces." Haru noticed Yue for the first time; she seemed to hold his attention. "How about a trade? The kit for your life. Whaddya say?"

"Not a chance," spat Saya, who pulled the slumbering kit closer to her body. Haru smirked before disappearing in a gust of air and reappearing directly before Saya. She gasped in surprise and took a step back out of reflex. Haru reached out and grabbed onto Yue before leaping back onto a tree.

"Thanks for the gift. I'll return it by letting you live." An arrow embedded itself in the trunk of the tree next to his face. He looked at Saya, the threat of bodily harm dancing within his irises. "I wouldn't do that again if I were you. I will attack, and as I said, I don't want to hurt that pretty face of yours."

Saya notched another arrow, leveling it at his face. It began to glow a pale, lavender-pink color. "I could say the same." She paused for a second, her eyes narrowed in confusion and curiosity. "Why do you want Yue?"

"It's a special kit, so I want it." He shrugged. His gaze became interested as he looked at the young woman threatening him. "What about you? Why do you want it?"

"She's mine; given to me by her deceased mother—courtesy of your wolves. If you don't return her to me right now, I'll purify your ass to hell," growled Saya venomously. Haru stared at her for a short time in silence, eyes calculating, before he jumped down and held the kit dangling from her scruff before Saya. The girl began to reach for Yue when what Haru said next stopped her in her tracks.

"I'll give her back on one condition: You'll be my woman."

"Eh?" There were multiple shouts of surprise, but Saya's was the loudest. "Why?" The flabbergasted female finally managed to squeak out.

"You protect this kit like she's your own pup. That is something that would be great for the next Alpha Female of the Yoro Clan."

Saya's breath whooshed out of her in an instant. He could not be serious. The guy had just met her; how could he be so willing to marry her this soon? He had to be joking.

"You've got to be kidding…" She shook her head in disbelief. _There's no way…_

"Why would I joke about something like this?"

"You _just_ met me. You don't know me at all. I threatened to _kill_ you! Why the hell are you wanting to get with me?"

Haru shrugged. "You're strong. You protect your kin. That's all I need to know to understand that you'd make a great Alpha Female."

Saya stared at Haru for a moment before speaking, her voice taunt, "Sorry, I'm taken, but I'll still take Yue back." He hummed in thought for a moment. Saya narrowed her eyes. She opened her mouth to threaten Haru again, but he spoke first.

"Don't tell me that you're taken by that mutt-face back there. That would be a waste." Saya's brain was slow to process what Haru had spoken.

"She ain't mine, but you still better get outta here after you give that kit back!" Inuyasha spoke up from behind Saya. Haru stared in contempt at Inuyasha before returning his attention to her.

"So you're taken, but he isn't here. Where is he then? I can't smell any scent of another male on you except for that mutt."

"He's not here because he's unable to join me. His scent, as you put it, isn't on me because I haven't seen him in a while, but I'm still taken all the same." _Yeah, I'm taken all right._ Saya thought as Haru narrowed his eyes at her in thought. _I'm about as taken as a delusional fan-girl gets._ She tried to keep her thoughts from showing on her face.

Haru hummed in thought before sighing and handing Yue back to Saya. "I guess that means that I'll just have to convince you to leave him and be my woman." Saya sighed as she accepted Yue into her arms. As she returned to Sango's side, she spoke to Haru.

"I appreciate your flattering words, but I cannot accept them. Thank you for returning Yue to me. We'll be on our way now." The rest of the group watched as Saya made her way back to the path they had been following; they followed suit after a quick glance in Haru's direction. The wolf demon stood still in a mix of emotions as the group disappeared from view.

As they walked, Saya's mind was in an uproar about the recent events that had unfolded concerning the young wolf demon, Haru. Something that still puzzled her was the pink glow on his legs. Maybe it had been a fashion statement.

"What was, Saya-chan?"

"Hm?" She turned toward Sango. "What was what, Sango?"

A confused smile passed over Sango's lips. "You said 'maybe it had been a fashion statement.' What was a fashion statement?"

"I said that aloud? Oops." She laughed sheepishly at herself. She did seem to possess the habit of speaking her thoughts aloud when she did not mean to. "I was just thinking about Haru-" Saya missed Inuyasha's annoyed expression at the mention of the wolf demon "-and about how he had a pink glow type of thing on his shins. I was wondering if that was a fashion statement or not. It must have been."

Sango's face grew confused. "What pink glow, Saya-chan? I didn't see one." She turned to Shippo who rested upon Saya's shoulder. "Did you?" Shippo shook his head.

"Huh? You guys didn't see it? It was pretty bright—definitely noticeable. I wonder why that is…"

"Did I hear you say that the wolf demon had a pink glow on him?" Miroku slowed down so that he could talk with the two females. Saya nodded. "Could it be that you've seen a Shikon shard and not realized it?" Saya blinked in surprise.

"Huh, I think you're right, Miroku-san." Saya said, looking up at said companion with a thoughtful expression resting upon her face. She collided into Inuyasha when he suddenly stopped walking and began to quake in anger.

"We ran into a shard of the Shikon no Tama…and you just _now_ decided to point it out to us?" Saya looked at his back with arms crossed as best they could with Yue resting peacefully within them.

"It's not like I _knew_ that they were Shikon no Tama shards. I told you before that I've never had to sense them, and the ones that I have were given to me by Mamma. I haven't had to _look_ at them or really notice them before now. Sorry that I'm pointing things out later than you would have liked." Saya turned away with a huff toward Miroku and Sango.

Inuyasha turned as well, an irate expression upon his face. "They?! Shards! How many did he have?" Saya replied that there were two on his person. Inuyasha growled in aggravation once again before he began to stomp his way through the trees; the others were forced to follow.

The group emerged from the wooden area to be greeted by a setting sun. Saya admired the sunset before she was forced to reign in her slipping attention to prepare camp before their source of light vanished beneath the horizon. They barely set up in time. Saya was forced to prepare ramen again for dinner due to the lack of light. She made a mental note to bring a flashlight for whenever she returned home.

While Saya ate her food, movement on her lap alerted her that Yue had awakened. She set down her ramen to retrieve bits of vegetables for the kit. After the kit had eaten, Yue returned to sleep, curling closer to Saya's stomach.

"She seems fond of you already," spoke Sango quietly next to her. Saya nodded with a smile, grabbing her ramen and resuming her meal. The remainder of the evening was uneventful as the group settled down for the night.

The following morning, Saya awoke when she heard the others moving around the campsite packing and cleaning. She reluctantly opened her eyes before peering around. Sango, being the nearest to her, was the first to notice her open eyes.

"Ah, good morning, Saya-chan. We were just about to wake you so we could finish cleaning and depart." Saya nodded, sleep still fogging the edges of her brain.

Sitting up, she yawned and stretched. She was about to stand when she noticed something seemed to be missing. Saya glanced around the area surrounding her as panic settled in. "Where's Yue?"

"Shippo has her. She woke up a bit ago and was hungry, so Shippo took care of her for you." Saya looked for the young demon. She spied him attempting to play with Yue. The scene was too cute to allow it to slip away, so she brought out her phone from her pocket and took a picture. The sound of the shutter clicking alerted everyone; they glanced around in preparation for an attack. Saya began to laugh.

As she tried to quiet her laughter, she noticed that her companions turned to face her one by one. Sango was confused, Miroku was wary, and Inuyasha was irritated. Once her mirth was under control, she began to explain what had happened.

"So you mean to say that there is a likeness of Shippo and Yue on that devise of yours?" Miroku pieced together slowly.

Saya nodded before indicating the group to gather so they could peer at the picture. Everyone started when they saw the picture of the two young demons. Upon seeing the adults' startled faces, Shippo ran over to discover what was happening; Yue trailed behind slowly. After the smaller demons rested upon her lap, Saya showed the picture to them.

"Is-is that me?" Shippo asked with something akin to awe and fear. Saya nodded. Yue, however, was unaffected. She merely made noises of happiness while she nestled closer to Saya.

The group set out to continue their journey not long after. Inuyasha and Miroku took the lead once again while Sango and Saya brought up the rear with Shippo resting upon Sango's shoulder. Yue had found a new favorite place to travel—along Saya's shoulders, which was where she currently was slumbering. Saya was amazed by how much the young kit could sleep. She seemed to awaken only long enough to eat and relieve herself before sleeping once again.

"I know she's a baby still, but I'm surprised how much Yue can sleep." Saya turned to Sango, "Did Kirara sleep this much when she was young?"

"Honestly, I don't know. I received her when I was young, but she had been in my family for years. Before that, she was with Midoriko, the creator of the Shikon no Tama." Sango smiled at the neko demon traveling by her side. "So, I don't know the answer to that question. Sorry, Saya-chan." Saya shook her head before waving away Sango's concern.

"It's all good. I was just wondering." Sango nodded.

The group took another break a while later for lunch. It was another quick affair of ramen. Saya was surprised by how healthy everyone seemed to be—especially since the majority of the time what they ate seemed to be nothing but ramen! Although, all of the walking had to be good to help keep them in the physical fitness the group all possessed. They resumed their endless wanderings a short while later.

Saya's body was aching in protest by the time Inuyasha announced they would stop for the night. It was with minute amounts of reluctance that she managed to motivate herself to cook a meal for everyone that wasn't ramen. She decided a quick soup would satisfy the masses. She noticed as she was allowing the soup to simmer, everyone seemed rather impatient for the food to finish. In fact, Inuyasha and Shippo had both come at some point to check how much time remained for the food to finish. She decided to ask a question that had been bugging her while she had cooked as she fished out bowls for the soup.

"Did my mother ever fix healthy food for everyone, or was it always ramen?"

Miroku looked up from where he sat. "We have not been traveling together as a group for very long. Kagome-sama would usually fix food that was quick to make and eat, so our meals tended to be ramen."

Saya let out a short giggle. "Well, that explains why everyone seems so impatient for the soup to finish."

Miroku gave a sheepish laugh. "Yes, it seems that we are all very eager to eat the delicious-smelling food you have prepared for us."

Once the correct amount of dinnerware had been acquired, she began dishing out the soup. "Well, you don't have to wait any longer. It's done now." At once, the gang swarmed to receive a bowl. Inuyasha and Shippo fought who would get the first bowl. "Guys! There's enough soup for everyone to have seconds. Just get a bowl and eat," said Saya while laughing. Miroku and Sango retrieved their bowls in calmer manners. Saya had even found two small saucers for Yue and Kirara to try some. "Here, Kirara. Would you like some?" The small neko mewled happily before digging in as well. Saya set Yue's meal before the tiny kitsune and was surprised to see how quickly the food disappeared. The group ate in relative silence until Shippo and Inuyasha both finished and demanded more.

Saya sighed, realizing there was more work for her to do other than finding the jewel shards. The manners of those two were atrocious. "Do you two ever ask for anything?" When the duo stared at her confused, she sighed once again. "If you ask, you can have your second helping. Demanding gets you nowhere with me." It was with great reluctance that Inuyasha finally caved and asked for his food after the remainder of the group had gotten theirs. "Here you go, Inuyasha. I gave you the rest." She had to bite back the smile that wanted to surface when she saw the look on his face. It reminded her of a child at a candy store. It was incredibly endearing.

The remainder of the night passed with no disturbances. That night, when Saya laid down was the first time she noticed the sky. A soft gasp escaped her lips before she could stop herself.

"What is it, Saya-chan?" Sango asked from beside her, fearing an attack.

"It's just that I've never seen this many stars before. It's breathtaking." Sango asked what she meant. "In my time, there are so many lights; the air is filled with pollution so you are only able to see a small fraction of what you see here. It's amazing how many stars there are." Sango smiled before agreeing with Saya. The two wished each other a good night and sweet dreams before drifting off into their slumbers.

The following day was much of the same: travel, break, travel, camp for the night. It wasn't until the fifth day that anything eventful happened. The group had stopped for the night when Saya paused in her actions of preparing dinner.

"What's wrong, Saya-chan?" Miroku asked, suddenly alerted to the possibility of an oncoming attack.

"I have that odd sensation again. I think there's another fragment headed this way."

~x~

Inuyasha's golden eyes narrowed as they swept the landscape before him. Something was, indeed, headed toward them, and it did not set well with his senses. The annoying wolf had been only mildly unsettling, but this was causing every fiber within his body to stand on high alert.

The monk was quick to join him as the females and Shippo gathered the meager campsite and smothered the fire. The hanyou's senses strained to notice anything unusual surrounding them. He distantly heard the girl gathering things into her bag before grabbing her weapon then flanking to his right while Sango stood on the other side between the monk and himself.

Compressed darkness seemed to spread slowly from behind the tree line toward the group. Whatever the darkness was, Inuyasha detested it; it reeked of blood and death. Distantly, Inuyasha heard the howl of a wolf. As the darkness surged forward, another scent reached his nose—a scent that was purely demonic. The darkness must be some demon's youki. He advised everyone to avoid it at all costs; it was likely to injure the weaker members of the group—or worse.

"Avoid what? I don't see anything," mumbled the girl with slight annoyance. Inuyasha was about to explain when a voice cut him off.

"You possess something that I desire. Give the kitsune pup to me, and I shall allow you to live," a voice called from within the trees. It threatened a slow, painful death if its demands were not met. Now that the demon was closer, Inuyasha could measure its power; he resisted the urge to roll his eyes. While its youki was something to worry about, the actual demon was not.

"Like hell we're giving you anything, bastard. Come out and fight!" Inuyasha wanted to get the confrontation over with; his nerves were starting to wear thin. (The fact that he had yet to eat dinner did not help alleviate his annoyance.) If something did not happen soon, Inuyasha would venture into the woods to end the demon himself.

"You will learn well not to bare your fangs toward others of higher status than you, hanyou," the demon threatened. Inuyasha scoffed; the weakling didn't know what he was up against.

"Why don't you come out here and show me why I shouldn't?" The youki shifted, stretching toward the girl and Shippo, who perched himself upon her shoulder. The youki, which swelled, moved with incredible speed toward the two. Inuyasha turned to grab onto them, but they had already disappeared. He scanned the area, only to discover them in the arms of the annoying wolf.

"What the hell? Are you good for anything? She was almost attacked, and you did nothing to stop it." The mangy wolf turned his attention to the girl. "Everyone okay?" At the girl's slow nod and dazed conformation, the wolf demon redirected his attention toward the irritated hanyou. "Are you going to take care of that annoying pest or should I?"

Inuyasha growled, annoyance beginning to roll off his body in waves. This wolf was beginning to become more aggravating than the demon threatening them. "No one asked for your help."

~x~

Saya watched with something akin to amusement as the two egos within the campsite argued. She quietly stepped out of Haru's grasp before approaching Miroku and Sango after they brought down the demon. Once the demon had met its demise by Sango's Hiraikotsu, the youki that had not been previously removed with Miroku's wind tunnel had dissipated instantaneously.

Shippo glanced back at the still-arguing males. "Do you think they will even notice?"

Saya spared them a glance. "Probably not." Saya approached Miroku, who was knelt on the ground, breathing hard. "Are you all right, Miroku-san?"

He nodded, though it seemed a little strained. "Yeah, I just took in a bit too much of the demon's youki. I should be fine soon." Nodding uncertainly, Saya left the man alone to venture toward Sango. She asked if there was anything she could do to help.

The demon hunter nodded her head. "If you could find the shard, I'll take care of the rest." Saya nodded before glancing around the remains of the fallen demon. Upon spotting the glowing piece of flesh, Saya approached it. Bending down, she grimaced as she removed the shard from the flesh. She did not noticed Sango's look of surprise when she simply picked up the shard. Sango smiled at her in thanks before resuming her work of disposing of the demon corpse.

While Saya watched those about her busying themselves in some sort of fashion, she discovered something about the night's events that bothered her. How had Haru arrived in the nick of time to save her? Had he been watching? If so, why? Was he trying to steal Yue again? The last thought frightened the girl as she looked toward the wolf demon. He did not seem to notice that Saya and the small demons had vacated the area around him. One would think that if he were trying to steal something, he would be more aware of the location of the object he was attempting to poach. Finally, Saya could not handle the unanswered questions any longer, so she marched toward where Inuyasha and Haru stood, glaring at one another.

"Haru, why are you here? I'm not complaining about you saving us, but I am wondering why you are even here." The egos broke their intense glaring competition to stare at the female speaking.

Saya's question seemed to finally register in Haru's head before he took a step toward Saya and offered a boyish grin. "I'm here because my father put me in charge of protecting that kit and her mother."

Confusion spread like wildfire through Saya. "Why? Aren't wolves and foxes enemies or something?" Haru chuckled before suggesting that they sit for the explanation.

Once settled, Haru explained, "Yeah, normally we don't get along too well, but under certain circumstances, we can work together."

"So, why are you working together now?"

"There's been something plaguing these lands recently; it's been killing all the animals and weak demons instantly. That kit in your arms is special—her entire clan was until they all were killed. In order to keep whatever it was from getting its hands on them, they were killed or protected by other demons. My father chose to protect instead of kill; he no longer cares for unnecessary bloodshed."

Saya tilted her head to the side in thought. "So you mean to say that the demon we just ran into wasn't what is killing them."

"Yeah, that's right."

Saya hummed in consideration before asking another question. "When I ran into those wolves earlier, they were protecting the fox, not hurting it?"

"Correct. They had been given instructions not to harm the kitsunes."

Saya nodded. "That explains a few things. But answer me this: you keep saying that Yue is special, but _how_ is she?" Yue stirred in Saya's lap, drawing the attention of both adults. The young kit squirmed around until she found another comfortable position on Saya's lap before returning to her slumber. "Is she special because of how much she can sleep? Because that seems very possible right now," spoke Saya dryly. Haru gave a chuckle in response.

"I think it's best if I allow you to figure out how she's special on your own. She seems to be growing attached to you already." The wolf demon redirected his gaze from the slumbering animal on her lap toward her face. "That's a good thing, by the way." Saya nodded slowly.

Light engulfed the area around her causing Saya to glance around for the source; Inuyasha had restarted the fire. Everyone was gathering around its offered warmth. Saya made as to join the others, but a hand reached out to stop her. Haru's hand was latched onto her wrist, keeping her from leaving his presence yet. Saya opened her mouth to ask what his problem was, when he began to speak quietly for the first time.

"I know there is no other male in your life." The statement caused blood to rush to her face; Saya was sure she now resembled a tomato. Haru glanced toward the group as they prepared places to rest around the fire. "Is it the monk?" The unexpected question elicited a chortle out of the startled girl. Inuyasha's gaze turned toward them briefly before refocusing on the fire before him.

Saya fought to control her laughter before speaking. "No, it's not him."

Haru gazed at the girl, causing her to flush again. "So I was correct in guessing the mutt. That's a shame." He shook his head. "You could do so much better."

"Like you?" She arched an eyebrow in his direction. His self-assured grin was the only response Saya required before she dissolved into a fit of giggles. She excused herself to prepare dinner for the awaiting group. Ramen seemed to be the wise choice for the night. It was already dark, so fixing a legitimate meal was out of the question. Besides, Saya was sure everyone was tired and wanted to sleep. Ramen was fast and easy to prepare. Once everyone, including Haru, had a container of ramen (much to Inuyasha's irritation), the night passed by smoothly.

* * *

 _Woo! That was a long chapter! Let me know if there was anything you liked, disliked, or thought needed more attention via review! Until next time! ~Saph_


	5. Chapter 5: Nick of Time

The following morning, Saya was rudely awoken from her slumber by Inuyasha nudging her with his foot. "Wake up, we're heading out." Saya groaned before sitting up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Sorry, I tried to get to you before Inuyasha, but he beat me to it," apologized Sango as the two went to the nearby stream to freshen up before the group set out for the day.

Saya shook her head, "It's not your fault he can be an ass sometimes. I thank you for trying." Sango smiled in response. The two females returned to the campsite to find Inuyasha and Miroku ready to depart. Saya packed the remainder of her belongings, but looked up when a voice startled her.

"Are we going to leave soon or what?" Haru approached from the woods behind them.

Inuyasha raised his irritated gaze in the wolf demon's direction. "What is this 'we'? Who says you're welcome here?"

Haru smirked before pointing at Saya. "She does." The hanyou reluctantly redirected his attention toward the person indicated.

Saya raised an eyebrow at the wolf demon. "Why get me involved in this?" His only response was a smirk, to which Saya rolled her eyes before turning her attention from one demon to the other. "I do approve of his joining us; more people to battle Naraku. And besides," she added after a pause, " _Haru_ doesn't insult me whenever he speaks to me." Inuyasha simply growled and ordered her to finish packing.

The band of ragtag companions set off a short while later. The still-irritated hanyou took the lead while Miroku followed a short distance behind. The remainder brought up the rear. Yue was draped around Saya's shoulders once again, while Shippo rested upon Sango's. Kirara walked beside her human. The girl from the future and Haru quickly became engaged in conversation, while Sango listened with amusement.

"I still don't understand why you continuously do things that purposely piss him off—and then get me involved! He'll end up hating me, I'm sure."

Haru shook his head with a grin. "Pissing that mutt off amuses me, and I get you involved because it pisses him off even more. Don't worry, he won't hate you." Saya directed an incredulous gaze at the demon. "Who could hate a woman when she fixes amazing food like you do?"

"Thanks for the compliment, but I don't count what I fixed last night as cooking." The statement was accompanied by a roll of her eyes.

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, I hardly count heating water, putting it in pre-seasoned noodles, and waiting for them to soften as cooking. The soup I made a couple of days ago is what I count as cooking."

"It was really good," Sango pipped in.

"Yeah, it was the best," the fox child exclaimed with a grin.

Saya beamed at the two. "Thank you!"

Haru draped an arm over Saya's shoulders. "I guess that means you'll just have to fix some of that delicious soup while I'm around so I can truly gauge your cooking skills."

Saya laughed. "I suppose I will."

When everyone stopped for lunch, Inuyasha turned to the other demon within the group. "Don't you have somewhere else to be, Wolf-Cub?"

Haru grinned before placing one of his arms around Saya. "Nope, just hanging out with my woman."

Saya raised an eyebrow. "Since when am I your woman? I don't recall ever accepting that offer."

"You took Yue back, didn't you?"

Saya's eyes narrowed, but a small smile threatened to pull at her lips. Haru's grin was becoming contagious. "After I told you that I'm taken."

"Which is a lie."

"Completely beside the point!"

"No, I'm pretty sure that is the point."

The two would have continued their banter if Inuyasha had not growled in aggravation, "Would you two shut up?"

"Keep to yourself, Mutt. This discussion is between me and my woman. Go scout ahead or something. Make yourself useful."

"I am _not_ your woman, for the last time!" Her intent was ruined when she began laughing.

Inuyasha's eye began to twitch as his irritation grew. "Why don't _you_ go scout ahead and earn your keep? You ain't done shit since you started following us around."

"I've kept the women happy; that's my job. I'm good at it." Saya and Sango burst out laughing. Grinning cockily, Haru turned back to Inuyasha. "See?" The duo's laughter increased. Inuyasha gnashed his teeth before grabbing the back of Haru's armor and dragging him away from the group.

As the two demons disappeared, Sango turned to Saya. "I almost feel sorry for him."

Saya laughed. "I don't. The idiot brought it upon himself." Sango chuckled in response.

Once the duo returned, the group set out once again. They traveled in relative silence; Haru was the only one making any noise as he muttered curses and complaints beneath his breath. Saya turned to him.

"You do realize you brought all of that upon yourself? Don't go cursing Inuyasha because of your own stupidity." Haru glared. "What? You said those things to purposely irritate him. What he did in response is not my fault; you brought it upon yourself." Saya shrugged. Haru still glared at her. "Oh, you thought I was going to jump in and save you from the big bad dog? No, it was far too amusing watching you getting dragged away by him." Haru huffed. "Don't give me that treatment. You know you would have done the same thing if our positions were switched." Haru huffed again but didn't resume his muttered grumbles. Saya averted her face keep Haru from seeing her smile because of the pouting expression he displayed.

Inuyasha walked at the front of the party, but he had still heard what the girl had said to the annoying wolf. It surprised the hanyou that the girl sided with Inuyasha; he had figured she would take the annoying wolf's side. It was unexpected. Perhaps she wasn't as annoying as he originally thought.

"Geez," came a whispered groan. "How long do you think we're going to be walking? We've already walked more today than we did yesterday."

 _Strike that,_ Inuyasha thought with his left eye beginning to twitch, _she's still as annoying as I thought._

"I don't know, Saya-chan, but I know we'll be stopping soon. Night is drawing near, and we have to find a site and set up camp before the sky darkens. Do you think you can hold on for a little while longer?"

"I guess I have no choice, but as long as we stop soon, I think I'll be okay. I'm just not used to this much daily activity." The girl gave an airy chuckle. "It seems that I'm out of shape."

"What are you talking about? You look great to me," came the wolf's response. It appeared the other demon was over his irritation with the girl. Inuyasha may not have seen his face, but he was certain the wolf was grinning slyly. A soft smack was heard, confirming his suspicion.

"Letcher." The trio's soft laughter filtered toward the hanyou.

Inuyasha was thankful when he spotted a decent campsite a short distance away. "We're stopping over there for the night. Let's get a move on it. It's going to be dark soon."

"It wouldn't be if we had stopped sooner," came a soft grumble under the girl's breath. Inuyasha turned her with a glare. Her eyes widened before she scurried after Sango. _Serves her right for complaining so much!_

The campsite was assembled quickly, and the girl made ramen once again for dinner. Everyone ate in silence. Inuyasha's ears began twitching, and he was suddenly alerted to the fact that not only was the group quiet, so was the entire surrounding area. It was far too quiet. Something was wrong. He used all of his senses in attempt to figure out what was happening. When the stench of death and decay suddenly assaulted his nose, it took all his willpower not to cry aloud. It was strong; really strong. Instead, he stood with a growl.

"Some thing's comin'. Get ready." Everyone scrambled to gather everything and finish their measly dinner; some ramen was left unfinished due to lack of time. Inuyasha glanced at the unfinished ramen with a hint of regret; it was such a shame to let something so delicious go to waste, but it was necessary. Everyone soon stood poised, ready for any attack that would come their way.

"I sense shards headed this way," the girl murmured.

Saya began to fidget as the feeling of the shards drew closer. Something about them was…off. She didn't know what it was; she had felt the same way with the other demon that possessed a shard, but the off-feeling was intensified for these shards. Perhaps it was because there were more than one? No, that was not it. A glance to her right showed Haru standing in a defensive position slightly before her. She had not felt this way when Haru had appeared, and he had two shards on him. What was going on?

Her question was soon answered when a roar reverberated within the surrounding area. It caused Saya's legs to almost buckle beneath her. Haru was at her side in an instant, an arm around her waist to keep her steady. "You okay?" He did not look at her, but Saya knew he was worried. He must have sensed a change in her stance. She strengthened her resolve and stood straighter. After receiving a nod, Haru took a step away.

The demon made its appearance. Its body was humanoid, but specific aspects were animalistic. Its legs were that of a large mammal; Saya could not determine which type. Instead of clothing, thick, dark fur covered its body. Its eyes were a bleak, stormy gray. It had talons for nails. Saya could not study it for long because it was accompanied by a thick, dark smog that seeped out and spread, giving it a large girth of space. Everyone jumped back to avoid the invading miasma. The demon's eyes swept by each member of the group until they rested upon Saya, upon whose neck Yue was curled around.

A malicious grin appeared on the demon's face, revealing sharp, pointed fangs. "Oh good. You saved me the trouble of finding the little brat. Give it to me, and I'll consider making your deaths swift and painless."

"Like hell you're getting anything," growled Haru as he took a step to block Saya from the opposing demon's view.

It looked at Haru with a bored expression. "If it isn't the wolf cub. Where's your pops? Too scared to come out and fight himself?" Haru growled, baring his fangs. The demon chuckled; its lips curling up to bare its fangs. "Oh, please, little pup. You hold no threat to me." Its eyes swept the group once more. "In fact, none of you stand a chance against me. It's best to give up now than to suffer through a painful ending." Haru's body tensed before he jumped at the demon. It knocked him aside with ease. "Who's next?"

Inuyasha charged, Tetsusaiga drawn and raised. The demon met Inuyasha's blade with its talons and a feral grin. Inuyasha was tossed back, and Sango charged forward, Hiraikotsu raised while Miroku threw sutra at it. Hiraikotsu was deflected, and the sutras were incinerated by the miasma. Saya notched an arrow before she loosed it, aiming for the demon's head. It was blown off course by the miasma, but still managed to nick one of its legs. It howled in pain before turning an enraged gaze in Saya's direction. The miasma surged toward her before completely engulfing her. The last thing she heard before the miasma swallowed her was the group calling out her name.

Once the miasma surrounded her, Saya expected to open her eyes and see pearly gates before her. However, she saw nothing. Glancing down, she noticed that she could see herself clearly, as if the miasma could not touch her. She reached up her hand to feel if Yue was still resting upon her shoulders. Saya breathed a sigh of relief when the soft fur of her kitsune brushed against her fingers. Yue nudged them, just awaking from slumber. Saya glanced around again, but upon sighting no changes, she began to grow frustrated.

What was going on? Surely she was supposed to die from that, and yet, here she was. She also did not understand why she could see herself through the smog that surrounded her. Nothing else was visible; it was as if she had suddenly been swallowed by a void. There was nothing near her; she could not even sense the Shikon fragments anymore.

Inuyasha let out a fierce growl. The demon would pay for what it just did. Haru seemed to share Inuyasha's train of thought.

"You bastard!" Haru howled before charging the demon again. Inuyasha joined directly behind the wolf demon. The two fought against the demon, but no matter how much they tried, they could not seem to get passed the miasma. Miroku stepped forward and advised everyone to get behind him.

"Don't even think about it, Monk! I'm not dealing with your sorry ass if you get poisoned by getting rid of this shit!" Miroku pressed his lips together in frustration.

"Someone needs to do something!"

"You're right, and we're getting there. Don't worry about it, Man." Haru gave an easy grin as his wolves arrived, and the lot returned to the action.

"That was close! I almost didn't make it here in time," a voice sounded to her left, accompanied by a giggle. Turning in the direction of the voice, she spotted a female around her age dressed in silver miko robes with red and gold accents that adorned the outfit. The miko approached her. "Are you all right?"

Saya blinked in surprise. The female looked like Hikari, complete with the same facial structure and blue eyes. However, as Saya examined the stranger's face more closely, she could detect slight differences. For one, the shade of blue for her eyes was slightly lighter. Another was that the two's hair were different: Hikari had black hair with blue highlights; this girl had dark auburn hair. She also wore her hair in a high ponytail that was held in place with a string. Her hair also seemed to be longer than Hikari's, but she couldn't be sure because Hikari never wore her hair down.

"Hey, are you all right?" The female asked again. Saya snapped out of her stupor.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry."

The girl sighed in relief. "Good." Saya then noticed something that had previously been disregarded when comparing the miko to Hikari.

"You're surrounded by the same light that I am! Is this your doing?" The girl looked at her confused.

"What are you questioning exactly?"

"We're surrounded by nothing but impenetrable darkness, and yet we can still see ourselves. Is that your doing?"

The girl smiled. "Why don't we leave this place and continue this conversation another time?" Saya sighed, not liking the idea of having her questions left unanswered, but agreed nonetheless. She did need to get back to everyone.

"How do you suggest we do that?"

"You have miko powers as well, correct?" When Saya nodded slowly, the miko continued, "Close your eyes and imagine your power as water." Saya raised an eyebrow. "Just follow along, please. I would like to leave as well." Shrugging, Saya closed her eyes and did as she was told. "Now imagine the water gathering, traveling into your hands. Picture the water collecting and forming spheres there." After a pause, she continued, "Now, I want you to reach for your arrows and fire one. Keep your eyes closed! There is no target to see—just shoot." After Saya had done so, she felt incredibly heavy and tired. She began panting with exertion. "Now you may open your eyes."

Saya did as she was instructed to find herself and the miko out of the impenetrable darkness and staring at her group members gazing at her in wonder while the opposing demon appeared annoyed. Saya stood and looked at the demon that attacked her. "That was a really cheap trick. You shouldn't have done that."

"Oh really? Who's gonna stop me? You? Please. You couldn't hurt a fly."

Saya's eyes narrowed. She reached for an arrow and notched it. Exhaling, she drew back and fired. The arrow flew through the air, a soft purple-pink glow to it. Once it reached the miasma, a straight path was cleared as it soared directly toward the demon, who dodged the arrow. Haru and Inuyasha jumped at their chance to make their way through the smog and began battling the demon head-on. Haru's wolves followed closely behind.

Inuyasha tore his sword through every inch of the demon he could get to, while Haru landed powerful kicks that resulted in sounds of breaking bones. The wolves tore into the demon at every chance open to then, ripping fur and flesh. However, the demon would not be defeated so easily. With every attack the lot dished out, the demon took multiple swipes with its talons at the duo. Numerous attacks landed on all of the combatants, and several of Haru's wolves were injured.

Saya and Sango searched for an opportunity to attack, but none arrived without the potential of hitting one of their companions. Frustrated that she could not assist more, Saya began firing several arrows through the miasma in an attempt to clear it away.

The demon knocked Inuyasha and Haru away and grinned. "I haven't had to use this much effort in a fight in a while—it's a shame you will all have to die."

"Don't get cocky, bastard. You're only that strong because of the shards that you possess," called Saya.

"You can see them? I'm impressed. Perhaps I won't kill you but will use you to find more fragments."

"Over my dead body,"

A malicious grin stretched across its face, "That could be arranged."

"Where are the shards?" called Inuyasha. Saya looked over the demon. She saw a dark glow near the heart. She relayed the information back to Inuyasha. Grinning, the hanyou attacked once again. Haru and his wolves surged forward with killer instinct.

The demon summoned more youki and pushed the group away from him. He turned to race toward Saya. Said female's eyes widened as she realized there was no way she could move out of the way fast enough. She heard everyone shout her name, but it sounded as if they were at a distance. Her entire focus was on the approaching demon with full intention of killing her. She notched an arrow in hopes of warding it off with a sacred arrow, but paused when the demon was stopped short by a shimmering, translucent, white-gold barrier. Confused, Saya glanced around to see the miko with one of her arms outstretched in her direction. She also seemed to be muttering something beneath her breath. Saya took the shot set before her, and watched as the demon screamed while it disintegrated.

The barrier dropped, and Saya stepped forward.

"Wait, Saya-san, it would be unwise to touch them with your bare—" Miroku began but cut himself off when Saya stooped down and picked up the larger fragment bare-handed. The darkened glow which surrounded the fragment previously vanished instantaneously and was replaced with the soft, pink glow that normally accompanied the Shikon no Tama. Saya turned to look at Miroku with a questioning look.

"I'm sorry, were you saying something?"

He shook his head slowly. "No, I wasn't." _She really is Kagome-sama's daughter_ , thought the bemused monk. Saya shrugged before joining the rest of the group, placing the fragment with the rest of them around her neck.

The miko dressed in silver stood off to the side and observed the group's interactions. After a while of observing, she decided to properly introduce herself. As she approached the group, Inuyasha and Haru turned toward her and stood in a defensive position.

"Who are you, and what do you want?" Haru asked with eyes narrowed.

The miko smiled. "My name is Hiyori, and I am here to train Saya." The group stared at her in confusion.

Saya gazed at her. "What kind of training are you talking about? Because I don't think I need a whole lot. I'm doing pretty great on my own." Inuyasha scoffed, and Saya glared at him. Hiyori approached Saya, completely bypassing Inuyasha and Haru. When she stood a foot away, Hiyori used her fingers to flick the air. Saya was sent skidding yards away. Looking up, Saya stared at Hiyori in amazement.

"You still have much to learn." Saya's irritation, which had already been initiated by the hanyou, grew which caused her to scowl and narrow her eyes in a glare. Hiyori simply smiled. "I can teach you if you wish. The power I just displayed is lying dormant inside you. If you allow me to train you, that power will be available to you at all times. You can accomplish great things, if you are willing to have me assist you." Saya studied the miko before her for a few seconds.

As Saya observed Hiyori, she could not find any nefarious intentions within her voice or expressions. She stepped forward to accept her offer of teaching when Inuyasha stepped in front of her. "What the hell are you thinking, Saya? She could have killed you, but you want to have her train you? Are you really that dense? You don't even know her!"

Saya stared at Inuyasha with an odd expression on her face. "You called me by my name."

Inuyasha stared at her in disbelief. "Did you not hear a word I said, wench? You don't know her!"

"I heard you. I also liked it more when you called me by my name, which is not wench by the way," Saya added irritably. "I don't care that I have just met her. She's saved my life. Twice! Besides, she could have just killed me if she wanted to, but I'm clearly still alive. She obviously doesn't want me dead."

"I agree with Inuyasha, Saya-san. We do not know this woman. She could just be trying to lull you into a false sense of security before she tried to kill you," Miroku interjected.

"What is it with you people and thinking everyone is out to kill me?" Saya demanded. "She reminds me of someone that I know, and she honestly doesn't look like she would hurt me. I'm accepting her offer, and you all can just get over it." Turning to Hiyori, Saya asked, "When do we start our training?"

Hiyori smiled. "Tomorrow morning before everyone departs for the day. You will need to eat and rest tonight because you will need it for the morning."

"How early are we talking?"

Hiyori smiled. "Possibly before the sun rises." Saya groaned. Hiyori walked back toward the woods that surrounded the group. "Now, if you will excuse me, I was tending to some other business before I came here. I shall see you in the morning, Saya-chan." With that, the mysterious miko disappeared into the forest. Inuyasha's eyes narrowed.

He was not keen to allow the miko out of his sight—especially if she was to train Saya. Only Kami knew what would happen to the girl if the two were left alone. Miroku approached the hanyou, placing a hand upon his shoulder.

"I am slightly worried for the safety of everyone should that miko continue with our group. We should be careful."

"We shall tread carefully, Hoshi-sama. If this Hiyori proves to be a threat, she will be dealt with," Sango assured the monk as she joined the duo. Miroku nodded and would contain his anxieties and reservations for their newest ally for now.

Saya was off to the side and ignoring everyone, consumed by her own thoughts as she was. "Before sunrise? She's crazy! I mean, after sunrise I might be able to do, but before? No chance in hell," the girl muttered to herself.

* * *

 _So this was requested by my beta, who stayed up late with me on multiple nights brainstorming ideas for this story. Some things that we came up with were amusing but would not actually fit within the storyline. So I decided I would still put some of them out there in the form of bonus scenes for you all! You're welcome! After all, I am here for your entertainment. *Starts playing Adam Lambert in the background* But seriously, folks, there will not always be a bonus scene; they will just randomly be throughout the story for the extra scenes that I enjoy the most. I sincerely hope you all enjoy these bonus snippets as much as we have. Enjoy!_

The miko smiled. "My name is Hiyori, and I'm here to train Saya." The group stared at her in confusion.

Saya gazed at her. "What the hell are you talking about? I'm fine like I am. Did you not see me destroy that demon? Obviously, I can take care of myself." Inuyasha scoffed, and Saya turned to him with a glare. Hiyori approached Saya, completely ignoring and bypassing the rest of the group. When she stood a short distance away, Hiyori extended her arm before flicking the air before her. Saya was sent skidding yards away. Raising her head, Saya stared at Hiyori in shock.

"You have a lot to learn," stated Hiyori crossing her arms. Saya's eyes narrowed in agitation, and a scowl became apparent on her face. "I can teach you if you'd like. The power that I showed, you could have as well. I can sense that you have much power lying dormant within you. I would bring them out and train you to control them. What do you say?"

Saya stared at Hiyori blankly for a few seconds before she dashed toward her. Grasping her hands, Saya exclaimed, "Teach me your ways, Sensei!"

Hiyori stared at Saya with a mixture of exasperation and disbelief. The miko sighed, "Oh boy…"

Inuyasha grabbed onto Saya and dragged her away from Hiyori. "What the hell are you thinking, Saya? She could have killed you, but you are wanting to have her train you? Are you really that dense? You don't even know her!"

Saya stared at Inuyasha with an odd look on her face. "You called me by my name."

Inuyasha stared at her in disbelief. "Did you hear a word I said, wench? You don't know her!"

Saya sighed, "Yeah, I heard ya, and my name is Saya, not wench. You used it once already, just keep using it. I also don't care that I've just met her. She's saved my life. Twice! Not only that, but she reminds me of someone that I know." Inuyasha and Haru looked at her as if she were stupid. "What? Have you seen at that face? Does that look like the face of a cold-blooded killer? I certainly don't think so! Look at her! She's adorable!" Both demons continued to stare blankly at Saya. Ignoring the duo, Saya turned to Hiyori who stood waiting patiently. "When we gonna start training?"

Hiyori smiled. "Tomorrow morning before everyone starts getting ready to depart. You will need to eat and rest today because you are going to need it tomorrow."

Saya stared at Hiyori blankly. "How early are we talking?"

Hiyori's smile widened. "Before sunrise."

Saya groaned. "I don't know if I can do that…"

Hiyori giggled. "Which do you prefer? Improving your abilities or sleeping?"

A pained and indecisive expression crossed her features. "That's a tough choice…" Hiyori giggled again.

* * *

 _So there you have it: the next chapter (plus first ever bonus scene!). I apologize for taking forever and a day to post this chapter. It's been a little rough for me to get motivated to write for this story. Not only have I started working two jobs, the motivation to write in general has become...sparse. I would really appreciate some encouragement, and if anyone finds anything that sounded off, was difficult to understand, or even something you liked, please let me know via review! I'm going to try to motivate myself to get back into this story regularly, but a little help from you guys would definitely help. Thanks everyone, and until next time! :D_


	6. Chapter 6: Training Begins

_I am sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo sorry that it took me this long to update! I have been attacked by a major case of writer's block and then add into the equation that I work two jobs now and you get a really long wait for an update. I'm really sorry. I'm also sorry that I didn't respond to reviews on my last update! I just noticed that as I went back through the story. I will now respond to all reviews since then:_

 ** _Fanficqueen306:_** _You're welcome for giving you a Koga :) (and yes, you spelled his name correctly :P)_

 ** _TheDoctorsTimeLady:_** _I'm glad you enjoyed the connection between Haru and Saya. I quite enjoy it a lot myself. :) And there will definitely be jealousy on the hanyou's part :P Thank you, and I hope you are still around to read this chapter update as well as this response :P_

 ** _Timewriter:_** _I know! So much awesomeness! Yay! Beta approval! XD Oops! Mistakes! XD Oh well! XD But of course :P_

 ** _YaoiLovinKitsune:_** _That's because he is :P He's basically Koga with a brain XD_

 _ **GuardianGirl24:**_ _Thank you for your praises :D_

 _A large thank you to everyone who reviewed! I hope you all enjoy this chapter as well, and please, don't forget to review for this one as well! :D Onto the chapter!_

* * *

 **Chapter 6: Training Begins**

Saya was awakened by the persistent prodding of a finger in her side. Shifting over to see who dared to disturb her slumber, she discovered Hiyori with an exasperated expression. "I have been attempting to awaken you for a while now," whispered the miko.

"Sorry," Saya whispered back as a yawn interrupted her speech, "I tend to be a heavy sleeper."

"I noticed." Standing, Hiyori motioned for Saya to follow her. "Time to begin your training."

Nodding, Saya made to get up, but a whine caused her to give pause. Yue was curled against her side. The small fox began whining again and shuffled closer to Saya. The girl smiled before glancing up at Hiyori, who nodded and indicated with her head where she would wait for Saya.

The miko in-training scooped Yue into her arms and approached Sango and Kirara as quietly as possible. She did not go unnoticed. The small neko raised her head as she watched the girl approach. Yue still resting peacefully within one arm, Saya raised a finger to her lips to indicate the neko not to wake Sango. Kirara settled down once again. Saya placed Yue next to the neko who sniffed the pup before pulling her closer by the scruff. Yue settled down without complaint and instantly resumed her slumber. Kirara glanced at Saya before settling into sleep as well. With a small smile, the tired girl returned to the awaiting miko's side. The duo walked until they were situated in an area which held different sizes of rocks and boulders. She could not see all details due to the lack of light illuminating the land. Saya turned to the other miko. "So, what are we doing here, exactly?" Another yawn escaped from her lips.

"Before we can begin your spiritual training, you must improve your stamina and reflexes. You are severely lacking in both."

"Why don't you just teach me the incantation for the shield used for me yesterday? That seems like it would be easier." The girl struggled to keep both eyes open. She was _not_ a morning person in any definition of the word.

"What incantation?"

"I saw your mouth moving when you put the shield up."

"Oh, that." Hiyori laughed. "I was simply muttering beneath my breath about how much work there was to accomplish where your training was concerned." Saya sighed while Hiyori smiled. "Shall we begin?" Reluctantly, Saya nodded. Hiyori grinned before climbing atop a large boulder.

Looking up at the other woman, Saya asked, "What exactly am I supposed to do?"

"I'm going to be tossing all sorts of things at you, including spiritual energy, and you have to dodge them."

"That doesn't seem too difficult," Saya muttered, missing the mischievous smile that passed over Hiyori's lips.

She hurt—that was all Saya knew. Every fiber of her being ached. Her body protested every step she took. All she wished was to collapse and regain the energy she lost during her so-called training session (more like a sadistic game of dodge ball where everything thrown possessed the probability of severely injuring her) with Hiyori. Upon returning to camp, Haru took one glance at the haggard looking Saya and made a delightful offer.

"Want me to carry you?"

Saya was about to answer when Hiyori spoke first.

"Her stamina needs improvement; it will not occur if she gets carried after her training. She needs to walk on her own two legs no matter how miserable she may feel. It builds character, and she will not feel a thing after a few more sessions." Saya was then forced to walk, even though she had a nice, comfy ride traveling beside her. Hiyori was kind enough to carry Yue for the tired girl, as she could barely walk, as the miko did not wish to see the pup injured.

After traveling for some time, Haru asked, "Are you gonna make it? You look like you're about to collapse." His doubt of Saya's stability was not hidden upon his features nor his tone.

"No, I'm not. I was ready to collapse after I finished that hellish _training_ session, and now I'm _really_ ready to fall over. I, honestly, don't know how I'm still standing, let alone talking."

"If you have enough energy to complain about my training methods, then you have more energy to spare than I thought. It seems I did not push you enough in your training. I shall correct such a mistake in the morning," Hiyori called from where she walked leisurely between Saya and the rest of the group. Saya growled beneath her breath while Haru laughed quietly.

When the group paused their journey for lunch, Saya collapsed onto the ground with a groan. "I'm not moving from this spot for six hours!"

Hiyori smiled as she placed the kitsune on Saya's chest before she assisted the group in preparing their meal. On the ground beside her, Saya lay slowly fading in and out of consciousness. She soon fell fast asleep.

Inuyasha glanced up from his food when Sango spoke some time later. "Should we wake her? She should eat as well." Her question was directed at the miko, but the demon slayer's gaze rested upon the slumbering female.

Hiyori shook her head. "She needs her sleep. Let her rest for now. I shall wake her when we are to depart." Nodding reluctantly, Sango finished her meal. Inuyasha watched as the miko glanced at Saya; the small kit rested contently upon her chest. The sight seemed to bring a small smile to the miko's face, but for what reason, remained unclear to Inuyasha.

The hanyou finished his ramen quickly before departing to scout ahead. He wanted to make sure nothing was headed their way. He was certain at least half of the group would be useless if something were to attack; they would worry about Saya's safety too much. Not only did he want to make sure nothing was headed their way, but he also wanted to get away from the one called Hiyori. Something about her did not set well with his senses. She had a different scent than most mikos; she still reeked of purification—a scent Inuyasha loathed because of what it could do to him—but there was another scent, something fainter and oddly familiar, that he just could not put his finger on. Once assured the coast was clear, he returned to camp.

"Pack up; time to leave." Everyone followed his command, and prepared to leave once again.

Saya was completely unaware of anything that surrounded her; she had not even been aware of the fact she had fallen asleep until she felt a light thump to her side. She sprung up, ready to attack the person who would dare do such a thing. Yue mewled in protest, suddenly in her lap, as she too was suddenly awakened.

"Oh, good, you are awake. It is time to depart," Hiyori informed with a smile.

Saya's eye began to twitch with aggravation. "You could have just tapped my shoulder, ya know. You didn't have to kick me!"

Hiyori cocked her head to the side in a considering manner. "I suppose you are right. I shall remember that for next time."

"Oh, hell no. Whoever wakes me up next is not going to be _you_!"

"I train you in the mornings, so I shall be the next to wake you."

Saya groaned and plopped back onto the ground. "I don't know which is worse: having no sleep or being left here for the demons."

"Oi! What's takin' you women so long?"

"Saya's not wanting to get up," Hiyori answered.

Inuyasha strode over and tossed the grounded female over his shoulder as though she were a sack of potatoes. Saya's eye twitched as she tried to get out of the hanyou's hold. Unfortunately, she was unable to control her energy enough to purify him, and her strength would never compare to that of Inuyasha. With a sigh, she resigned herself to being carried and glared at the dark auburn haired female who walked pleasantly beside Sango and Miroku—Yue resting within her arms once again. The kit seemed to be content in her position unlike Saya, who kept imagining Hiyori's death in multiple ways.

"I hate you," Saya stated simply while staring pointedly at Hiyori.

The female smiled pleasantly in response.

Saya's eyes narrowed. Haru walked behind Hiyori with a teasing smirk on his face. "Shut up, Haru," Saya gritted out.

"I'm not sayin' a word."

"But you're thinking it."

"Pipe down, would ya! You're givin' me a headache," grumbled Inuyasha as he shifted his hold on Saya.

"You could just put me down, ya know. I can walk on my own."

"You'll just slow us down, and we need to cover as much ground as possible. We already lost a lot of ground this morning because of your slow ass." Saya rolled her eyes, too tired to fight with him at the moment. Saya was beginning to fall asleep again at the steady movement of Inuyasha's steps, but what he muttered caused her eyes to snap open in irritation. "Geez, you're a lot heavier than Kagome."

"What was that?"

Inuyasha dumped Saya onto the ground. As she got to her feet, Inuyasha responded, "You heard me, wench."

Saya's eye began to twitch with agitation, something that was becoming a habit of hers around the hanyou. "You—Ah!" Before Saya could finish her insult, a bolt of lightning struck down; the force of the collision caused Saya to be swept away and slam her back into a tree. Hiyori rushed to her side as she slid down the trunk.

"Shall I check for any broken bones?" Hiyori asked. Though she would have anyway; she was just being polite by asking.

Saya nodded; the wind had been knocked out of her making it difficult to speak. Hiyori nodded before erecting a dome of transparent, white-gold energy to encase Saya. As the minutes ticked by, Saya slowly began to regain the ability to breathe with ease. While Hiyori tended to Saya, Inuyasha faced the man atop a male bovine that had appeared with the lightning.

The man turned his small, black eyes in Inuyasha's direction. "Draw your sword, Inuyasha, for I shall attack with or without you doing so." The man stood and charged Inuyasha, a hammer raised.

Saya turned her head in the hanyou's direction. "Inuyasha needs help; I should—"

"Stay where you are and allow me to heal you. You would be of no help to him in your condition. He will be fine." Uncertain, Saya nodded and allowed Hiyori to continue healing her. The sounds of the battle only added to her unease about the situation and caused her to start fidgeting. "If you keep fidgeting, you will not heal properly. He will be fine. You, out of all of us, know how strong he is. Now, stop moving."

The sounds switched from metal on metal to something unfamiliar to Saya. Several minutes later, a voice was heard.

"Totosai, that should be enough."

The hanyou glanced down. "Myoga?" Saya, however, could not see with whom he was speaking.

Totosai put his strip of leather away and turned to Hiyori. "Do I know you?"

"I should not think so. You may be thinking of my mother. I have been told we greatly resemble one another."

"Hmm…"

Hiyori returned her attention to Saya, dropping the encasement. "You should be healed now." Saya leapt to her feet and dashed to rejoin the others barely remembering to mutter her thanks toward the other female. The group sat in a circle to discuss the sword Inuyasha possessed; Hiyori followed behind slowly.

"So you're the person who forged the Tetsusaiga," asked Inuyasha.

"That's right, but I can't stand the fact that the great sword I made is being used in such a way. I'll just have to take it and turn it into cutlery." Tetsusaiga was shoved into Totosai's face; the old man was forced to open his mouth and push his head back in order to avoid the blade. "I was only joking!" His words sounded off due to having to speak without moving his lips too much, lest they get cut by the blade. Inuyasha returned to his previous position, replacing the sword in its sheath. Totosai sighed in relief before he continued his speech. "It is a shame that you have used the true power of Tetsusaiga only once. Perhaps you are not fit for such a powerful sword."

"I don't care what you say, this sword is mine, and so what if I've only used it once? All I need is practice!"

"It has been many years since the Shikon no Tama has returned to this land. I wonder how powerful the demons are that possess these shards—I am quite certain that there are multiple demons with multiple fragments. Do you honestly believe you can continue swinging that sword around blindly as you have and defeat those stronger demons?"

"Perhaps you should hear him out, Inuyasha. He is right: The remaining shards are bound to be held by demons who possess great power—more powerful than the one we have recently faced. We simply do not have time to wait around for you to try and master your sword." The voice of reason came in the form of Miroku.

"Indeed, Master Inuyasha. Totosai created the Tetsusaiga. He knows the secret to unlocking the full potential of your sword! You should hear him out." Saya glanced around for the source of the voice. She saw a flea resting upon Inuyasha's shoulder. Could that be where the voice came from?

"But first, there is one who seeks my life. You must protect me from him." Totosai sat up, gazing fearfully ahead of him. "He's here…" Inuyasha stood and looked behind him. Approaching the group was a male who was quite tall. His long, white hair swayed in wind as he walked. Across his cheek bones, two magenta stripes resided. On his forehead was a blue crescent moon. His eyes were the same color as Inuyasha's: a golden yellow, and about those eyes was—magenta eyeshadow? He was dressed in white and fur. He was incredibly attractive. Saya stared, trying to keep her mouth closed.

"Sesshomaru," ground out Inuyasha. The hanyou tensed; his hand instantly gripped onto the hilt of Tetsusaiga.

Sesshomaru's golden eyes flickered toward the crowd standing behind Inuyasha. "I see you still harbor Father's affliction for humans." His cold gaze swept over each individual, resting momentarily upon Saya before continuing onto the next.

"Who is that?"

"Sesshomaru, Inuyasha's older half-brother."

Saya heard the whispered conversation between Sango and Miroku, but couldn't believe her ears. That hot guy was Inuyasha's _brother_? _Damn, they both have some pretty good genes…_ Saya attempted to shake off her thoughts. Now would not be a good time to be distracted. If Inuyasha was acting this way, there had to be a reason. This Sesshomaru guy (no matter how attractive) must be dangerous, so she needed to stay on guard—no matter how much her mind kept slipping.

His cold gaze focused on Inuyasha once again. "Why have you plotted with Totosai to conspire against me?"

"Because you're evil incarnate!" Totosai answered behind the hanyou.

Saya had to bite her lip to keep the laugh from escaping. She knew this was hardly the moment to laugh, but the statement was just so…blatantly spoken—as if it were a well-known fact. It was difficult for her to keep a straight face. Totosai, however, did not find Sesshomaru's glare pointed in his direction amusing.

"I never said that I was talking about you…" he trailed off and began looking around innocently. Saya stared at the old man in disbelief and exasperation. This man did not seem to possess a backbone to speak of. He was such a coward!

"If you beat Inuyasha, then we'll talk about making a sword for you."

Sesshomaru's lips turned upward in a small, but malicious, smile. "Very well."

Sesshomaru instantly took to fighting. Saya reached back to withdraw an arrow, but a hand on hers stopped her short. Glancing to the side, she saw Hiyori shake her head. _This is his battle; he needs to do this himself_ seemed to be what she was silently conveying. Warily, Saya retrieved her hand and watched with baited breath as the brothers continued fighting. Sango reached for Hiraikotsu, taking a step forward to assist the hanyou—only for Inuyasha to shout at her.

"This is my fight. I don't want anyone's help!" It made Saya momentarily glad that Hiyori had been the one to stop her; she might have started yelling at the hanyou if he had told her that—something that would not have helped anyone in this situation. At one point during the fight, Saya feared that Sesshomaru would actually kill Inuyasha.

"I knew that runt would never stand a chance against Sesshomaru," Totosai muttered almost sadly.

"What do you mean by that? _You're_ the reason they're fighting, nimrod!" exclaimed Saya.

"Oh, I am?" Saya's eye twitched, and she could no longer control her irritation over the cowardly ways of the old man. With a shout of agitation, she turned and hit Totosai in the head with his own hammer. "My apologies," the old man muttered as a large lump began forming on his balding head.

"Annoying old man…" Saya huffed again before redirecting her attention back to the fighting siblings.

Inuyasha knew that if he didn't do something soon, this would be the end for him and Tetsusaiga, with Sesshomaru attacking the sword as he was. Just as he was running out of ideas, he smelt something: the winds colliding together in the vortex of the two youki, and the fissure that it created. Inuyasha swung Tetsusaiga, and felt Sesshomaru disappear.

"I knew he could do it," Shippo exclaimed.

"Yes, there was no doubt in my mind that he could pull it off." The fickle old man was hit over the head again by Saya before she approached Inuyasha, who knelt on the ground. He had not moved since unleashing the power of Tetsusaiga upon Sesshomaru. Saya had to watch her step; the ground was covered in long trenches, all stemming from where Inuyasha knelt. When she got closer, she saw the hanyou's ears twitch, but he did not move.

"Did I get him?"

Saya looked around. Not a trace was left of his brother. "I'd say so; there's nothing left of him." Inuyasha nodded slowly before standing. He found his way to a stream with his nose. Once there, he knelt down and splashed water into his eyes, clearing away the poison that Sesshomaru had so kindly bestowed upon him.

While the others approached the duo, Saya turned to survey the area. She didn't know why, but she felt something staring at her. It was a little creepy. Saya was so absorbed in her thoughts, she didn't hear the conversation taking place around her.

"Inuyasha, did you feel the Wind Scar slice through Sesshomaru?"

The hanyou shook his head. "That's the thing, I felt him just…disappear once it got closer to his body."

Totosai scratched his chin. "Just as I feared: Tenseiga protected Sesshomaru, even though he thinks it's useless."

"It saved his life?" Sango asked.

"It appears that way." The old man sighed before turning to Inuyasha. "I suppose because you have learned how to use the Wind Scar, I will allow you to keep Tetsusaiga." Inuyasha's eye twitched. "Give me the sword."

"Why should I do that? You had been threatening to take it away." Inuyasha's tone was heavily laden with irritation.

"So I can fix it. It has gotten pretty dull with you swinging it around like you had been!"

Inuyasha scoffed. "Whatever, old man."

Hiyori approached Saya as the girl continued to stare off into the trees. "Saya-chan?" She snapped out of her thoughts and turned to Hiyori, asking what was up. "Are you all right? Do you sense something?"

Saya frowned. "I'm not entirely certain. I keep getting this feeling that I'm being watched, but I can't see anything. It's starting to creep me out."

Hiyori hummed in thought. "Perhaps it is just your mind playing tricks on you. We did watch a heated battle. It could just be your senses on high alert for nothing."

"Yeah, I suppose." Saya glanced to the trees once more before sitting down and chatting with the rest of the group while they waited for Totosai to finish mending and sharpening Tetsusaiga. After a while, Saya noticed something was off. "Hey, where's Haru?"

The wolf demon was hidden within the woods that surrounded the group. Haru stared at the wolf across from him. This was not good.

"Are you certain?" The wolf nodded. The young wolf demon sighed. "Guess I have no choice. Tell him that I will return shortly, and I'll be bringing someone who will be of great value to us." Haru ran a hand through his hair as the wolf disappeared. Things just became complicated.

* * *

 _And another bonus scene! Just a fair warning on this one: I don't have my beta edit these as a whole, and I haven't done a whole lot of editing on this. I apologize. Please do not forget to review and let me know what you thought about this chapter. Any creative criticism welcomed! :)_

Saya was made aware of someone nudging her in an attempt to awaken her. Groaning, Saya slowly opened her eyes and blearily looked around. She soon discovered Hiyori next to her indicating Saya to stand and follow. The sky was still dark as Saya forced herself up and followed Hiyori away from the group. The two continued walking until they reached a flat land with boulders and smaller rocks lying around haphazardly. Saya could barely make out where some of them were. Gazing around, Saya asked why they were there.

"We're here because you need to improve on your stamina."

"What are you talking about?"

"You couldn't dodge that attack aimed directly at you. If you had better stamina and reflexes, you could have been able to get out of that situation, and I would not have had to throw up that barrier to protect you."

"Well, why don't you just teach me the incantation that you used for that barrier?"

"What incantation?"

"I saw your lips moving while you erected that barrier in front of me."

"Oh that?" Saya nodded, and Hiyori laughed. "I was muttering about how annoying it was that I had to save your butt and about how I was going to train you like no other." Saya scowled. "Shall we begin?" When Saya nodded, Hiyori climbed atop a large boulder.

"What exactly am I supposed to be doing, anyway?"

"I'm going to be tossing all sorts of things at you, including spiritual energy, and you have to dodge them all."

"That doesn't seem so difficult," Saya muttered. Saya missed the mischievous glint in Hiyori's eyes and the smile that played upon her lips.

Saya felt a sharp pain on her temple. "Ouch!" The pebble fell down onto the ground. "What the hell? You didn't say we were starting yet!"

"The enemy won't either." The statement was followed by another pebble that Saya managed to dodge. Hiyori decided to step up the game by throwing larger rocks, and then she added energy balls into the mix.

Saya attempted to evade all attacks aimed in her direction, but only managed to avoid less than half. She was sure to have bruises in the morning, if not later that day. She felt as though she were Sakura Haruno in her training sessions with Tsunade-sama. On the journey back to the campsite, Saya felt as though she would soon greet the ground with her face.


	7. Chapter 7: Pidgin From Hell

**Chapter 7: Pidgins from Hell**

The following morning, Saya was awakened once again by Hiyori's incessant prodding. Begrudgingly, Saya followed the other miko after depositing Yue beside Kirara once again. Her training now took her into the woods to the side of the group's campsite. Saya managed to keep one eye open enough to follow the cheerful miko to the site of her training. Obviously, Hiyori was a morning person. Saya tended to despise morning people. Her friend, Hikari (from her time), was a morning person and had found great amusement in tormenting Saya with questions and interacting with her before she became coherent enough to effectively join society before they had graduated.

"We shall continue your training here." Saya was brought back to reality by Hiyori speaking. Glancing around, Saya noticed they were in a small clearing within the woods.

"What are we going to do here? Another round of dodging fatal objects?" Saya certainly hoped not. She still sore from yesterday's training.

"No, we are going to take a hike through these woods."

"I feel like there's a catch."

Hiyori smiled. "There will be small obstacles for you to conquer along the way, but nothing too arduous this time around."

Saya gazed at the silver robed miko with suspicion. Something was bound to happen—something always goes differently than what is said in these types of situations!—but Saya followed Hiyori into the woods without further comment. Saya continued to pick her way through the trees after Hiyori. Along the way, the only types of obstacles she encountered were the random fallen trees laying across the path, uneven ground that caused the girl to trip if she didn't pay enough attention to where she was walking, and the annoying fact that Hiyori showed no signs of stopping even when the sky began to lighten through the small gaps between leaves. The miko in training was beginning to slow in speed and was in desperate need of water.

Hiyori turned around when she noticed Saya falling behind. "You must hurry, or we shall not return to camp before everyone is ready to depart."

Saya glared at the woman as she gasped for breath. "Whose fault is that? We could have been back a while ago if you hadn't decided to take such a long venture through these godforsaken woods!"

"No need to be testy. I am still training you, remember? Endurance, reflexes, and strength are what you need to improve before the real training begins."

"This isn't the real training?!"

Hiyori chuckled. "Of course not. The real training shall be much more arduous, but more mentally than physically taxing as these training sessions are."

"Oh joy. I can hardly wait…" Hiyori chuckled again at the amount of sarcasm within Saya's voice.

The duo continued hiking until Saya heard rustling of the underbrush. The sounds were growing louder and seemed to be closing in swiftly. Saya stopped and was about to say something to Hiyori until she noticed the other miko stop as well; however, instead of looking tense or anticipating an attack as Saya expected, the female smiled softly.

"I was wondering when he would decide to join me."

Who would be joining her? Saya was about to voice her question, but the answer was received before she could do so. A silver-white wolf bounded into the area. The size indicated it was the runt of its litter. It passed Saya and came to a stop directly before Hiyori. It dropped a small, cloth bundle at her feet.

"Thank you, Hiro. I had forgotten that." She tied the bundle of cloth around her shoulders. Turning from the wolf, she addressed Saya. "This is my traveling companion, Hiro. Hiro, this is Saya. I would like for you to protect her and her kitsune pup, Yue, whom you will be meeting when we rejoin the others of our traveling party." Surprising Saya, the wolf ran over to her and jumped up to place his front paws upon her shoulders. He then proceeded to cover her entire face with animal saliva. Saya collapsed onto the ground in a fit of giggles, Hiro still licking her the entire time.

"That is enough, Hiro," Hiyori called in amusement. "We must return to camp now. Inuyasha must be getting anxious to resume our travels." Hiro retreated several steps to allow Saya to stand. Once she regained her footing and began walking, he followed quietly behind her. Occasionally, when Saya would fall behind, Hiro would nudge her on the back of the knee to hurry her along after Hiyori.

"I'm going," Saya muttered in slight agitation on one such occasion. Hiro nudged her legs again.

When the mikos and wolf arrived back at the campsite, Inuyasha was the first to notice their reappearance and the newest addition to the group.

"What took ya so long? And what the hell is that wolf doing here?"

"We were training for a little longer than usual this morning, and this is my traveling companion, Hiro. Hiro these are Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku, Shippo, and resting upon Sango's shoulder and in her arms are Kirara and Yue respectively." Hiro approached Sango with greater caution than he had Saya. Sitting down calmly before the demon hunter, he nudged her hand. Sango smiled pleasantly before petting him upon the head. After giving the canine affection, Sango returned Yue to Saya. Saya's gaze was unintentionally drawn to Inuyasha once Yue found her comfortable spot resting upon her shoulders. The hanyou's eyes were narrowed at Hiro. Saya could only guess as to the thoughts rushing around his head, but if she were, her best guess would have been something along the lines of "great, not another wolf to deal with." The thought brought a small smile to her face before she realized something. Someone of their group was missing: The other wolf.

"Where is Haru? He's normally here by now."

"The hell should I know? I ain't his keeper!"

"Obviously, I was not asking you, Inuyasha. Has anyone seen him since yesterday?" Everyone gave a unanimous "no." Saya worried her lower lip. She hoped he was all right.

"We can't waste any more time waitin' on anyone else. Let's get going." Saya was about to protest when Inuyasha continued speaking, "I'm sure the annoying wolf will catch up to us later. Let's go."

Saya frowned but said nothing as she gathered her belongings and followed the group as they departed for the day. Saya was confused as to why Inuyasha had said what he had about Haru. She was grateful he had, but was still confused as to why. Maybe he didn't wish for her to feel upset? The thought sent butterflies dancing around her stomach even as she denied the possibility.

"Saya-chan, are you all right? You appear flushed. Was your training this morning strenuous?" Saya snapped out of her thoughts to focus on Sango, who gazed at the girl with concern.

"Huh? Oh, no. I'm fine. A little tired, but not nearly as bad as yesterday. Why do you ask?"

"You seemed a little out of it, and your face was flushed. Everything okay?"

Saya's face took on another shade of pink. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"If you are certain," Sango replied with concern.

Saya grinned. "I'm fine. I promise." After a moment's pause, Saya was reminded of something. "Oh, by the way, thanks for taking care of Yue for me while I've been training. I didn't want her getting hurt or something, so I'm thankful that you and Kirara looked after her for me."

Sango smiled. "It was my pleasure. She is such a calm little pup. It was no trouble looking after her." Saya grinned in thanks again.

The remainder of the travel was relatively quiet with the exception of Saya and Sango occasionally conversing. When the group stopped for lunch, the members went about setting up camp. While Saya awaited the water and firewood to start the ramen, Saya wondered once again where Haru was. Perhaps something had happened with his clan? Or he had gotten tired of hanging around the group and decided to leave? Saya shook her head at the idea. Haru received far too much amusement annoying the hell out of Inuyasha and herself to leave without a good reason. It must have been his clan. But what could have happened to them, she wondered. When the ramen was ready, she distributed the containers around the group before digging into hers.

Inuyasha's ears twitched as he heard the sounds of the whirlwind that signified the annoying wolf's return. Great. At least Saya wouldn't be distracted now and could actually focus on locating more jewel fragments properly. The hanyou tucked into his ramen with more gusto than usual, earning a glance from the female. Her gaze was inquiring, but after a moment, she shook her head and resumed her meal—only to glance up when the wolf made his reappearance. She began smiling, but it soon faltered. What was going on? It was that moment the wolf scooped Saya up and dashed off. The remainder of the group stared in shock for a moment before everyone began gathering belongings and breaking down camp quickly—their meals all forgotten. What the hell just happened?!

Saya gave a shriek of surprise as Haru whisked her away. The young wolf demon continued running for a while before he came to a waterfall and slowed. Behind the waterfall was a cave, and Haru entered the cave before depositing Saya upon a nest of straw and pelts.

"Haru's back."

"Looks like he brought back dinner." Saya's eyes widened at the statement. They were going to _eat_ her?

"Anyone who touches her, dies. Got it?" Saya's eyes grew larger still. She had not seen this side of Haru before. Was this how he normally behaved?

"Haruto!" Saya turned to the side to see a female wolf demon dressed in white furs and a chest plate rushing toward him. She seemed slightly older, but she was still beautiful. She had auburn hair and teal eyes. She held herself with an air of underrated power, like she knew she had power, but she didn't want to use it unless she had to. Once she had Haru in her arms, she turned to Saya. "Who is this, Haruto?"

Haru groaned. "Mom, it's Haru."

"I brought you into this world, I shall call you what I wish. Now answer my question."

 _Haruto?_ Saya thought with a snicker. Oh, she was not going to let him live _that_ down.

Haru sighed. "Mom, this is Saya. She's the one I told you and Father about. Saya, this is my mother, Ayame—Alpha female of the Yoro Clan."

Saya nodded her head slowly. "Pleasure to meet you."

Ayame narrowed her eyes at Saya. "I do not see how this human girl could possibly help us, but if you say so, Haruto." The younger demon groaned again while Saya snickered. Ayame redirected her attention to Saya. "Follow me." Standing, Saya did as she was told. Confusion and worry quickly overtook her amusement at Haruto's name. What was going on? Where were they going? Why did Haru bring her here? Saya remained silent as she followed the demons in hopes that her unasked questions would be answered.

She followed the two demons deeper into the cave in silence until they came to a stop in front of a male that Saya swore was Haru's twin. The only differences between the two seemed to be the fact the other male was older than Haru, and Haru seemed to have most of Ayame's facial structures.

"So this is the person that will help us?" His gaze was intense as he stared at Saya.

"Yes, she can sense the Shikon no Tama, so she will be able to tell us when the Birds are close and which one to attack."

He hummed in thought. "What is your name, girl?"

"Saya."

He hummed in thought again. "I will need proof that you will be useful to us."

"You want me to point out the fact that you have one shard in your right arm while Haru has one in each of his legs? Will that help?" The three demons stared at her in shock. She turned to Haru. "What, you thought I didn't know about them? I saw them the first time I met you. They're a little difficult _not_ to see with how bright they are. Same with his," she said indicating the male in front of them. The male Saya assumed to be the alpha (and Haru's father) nodded in approval.

"Very well. We will use you."

"Question: What exactly is going on?"

"You did not tell her?" Ayame turned to Haru with a stern look.

The younger male looked sheepish. "I didn't have the time. I figured I would be able to once I got her here, but you showed up before I got the chance."

Ayame huffed at her son. "I thought I raised you better than that. Very well, I will explain to you what is happening: There has been a war between the wolf tribe and the Birds of Paradise for many generations. They hunt our kind as meals while we defend ourselves against them.

"They had left us alone for a short time—until recently. Now they have begun attacking our men with renewed gusto, resulting in our dwindling numbers. The bird that possesses the Shikon no Tama fragment—the one that _you_ will point out to us—is the one that is of the utmost importance that we annihilate. The job of the rest of the clan will be to destroy as many of them as possible while keeping you safe. Because Haruto brought you to us, he will be the one most responsible for your well-being."

Saya nodded slowly as her brain processed all the information given to her. "Okay, when do we start this 'end the war' thing?"

"Tomorrow, so get as much rest as possible tonight because you will need it."

Haru led Saya back to the nest he dumped her on when she first arrived in the den. "This is where you will stay until we start the attack." Saya glanced around. It was against the back of one of the walls of the cave, but everyone surrounded it. There was no sense of privacy—or security for her safety, for that matter. His tribe members stared at her with something akin to desire—the desire for her flesh in their bellies. She shifted a little closer to Haru.

"Well, you stay here, and I'll be back in a bit." Saya's eyes widened. He was leaving her _alone_ with these people?

"Uh, mind taking me with you?" She hated that her voice was a little shaky. Haru, however, took no notice of that fact.

"Why would I do that? I'm supposed to make sure you're safe. You're the safest here." She seriously doubted that. "I won't be long. Just take a rest until I come back." Easier said than done. Saya was then left in a den full of man-eaters without the protection of Haru there with her.

After a while of sitting around doing nothing but fidgeting, Saya could not take it any longer. The intensity of their desire for her flesh was so great, she had to get out of there, if only for a short while. She stood, gaining the attention of those around her. She began walking toward the mouth of the cave.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Out for some fresh air. Sitting around doing nothing is driving me crazy."

"We cannot permit you to leave."

"Then come with me if you don't trust me enough not to run away." She mentally gave herself a pat on the back for how confident she sounded before she continued walking without looking back. She heard a pause as she assumed they glanced between each other before the sound of the hurried foot falls of someone following her reached her ears. She glanced to the side to notice one of the members not stopping her as she expected, but joining her. She noticed her new companion was similar in appearance to Haru in the fact that they both possessed dark hair, were clothed in fur and possessed similar body builds, but that was where the similarities ended. This male had green eyes and strong facial features. He did not seem to carry himself the same way that Haru did, but he did still carried himself with a certain kind of power that others of the tribe did not possess.

He looked over at her as she exited the mouth of the cave. "So what was the real reason you left the cave?"

Taken aback, she answered quickly, "Exactly as I said."

He snickered. "You're not hiding anything from anyone. I joined you because I'm the one less likely to kill you. Everyone else in there was debating on whether or not to kill you before you could attempt to escape. I'm saving everyone the trouble." Saya stared at the male in shock. "What? Your fear is radiating off of you, and everyone can pick up on it." She grunted in discomfort.

"I guess I don't need to try and cover it up then." Sighing, she glanced back at the den hidden behind the waterfall. "I can feel everyone wanting to eat me. It was giving me the creeps, so I needed out of there, if only for a little while. You don't seem to want to, though. Why is that?"

"Because I value my life more than getting a tasty treat. All of the alphas would be on us, not just Haru or Koga. Ayame-sama is extremely scary when she becomes enraged. The males I can deal with for the most part—they appreciate my strength too much to actually kill me, but I am certain Ayame-sama would feel no such loss at my death were I to kill the jewel detector."

Great. Now she was a jewel detector for not only Inuyasha, but the entire wolf tribe as well. Was there anyone that _didn't_ want to use her as such in this era?

The male beside her noticed her sudden disheartened emotion. "Hey, you okay? Was it something I said? I'm sorry, don't cry!" He began waving his hands before him as if they would be a means to stop her from crying.

Her eyes snapped up from the ground to stare at the male in confusion. "I'm not going to cry, but now I'm confused as to why you thought I would."

"Your scent changed. You smelt saddened by something, and I was hoping it wasn't me."

"Wait, you mean to tell me you can _smell_ my emotions?"

"Sure. All animals can," he replied with a shrug.

"Would, say, a half dog demon be able to?"

He wrinkled his nose. "Don't know why you would want to be around one of those mutts, but yeah, they could."

Maybe that was why he said what he had about Haru earlier…

"Don't tell me you have _feelings_ for one." A blush fought its way across her cheeks. "Damn."

"What's with the language?"

"Was hoping I had chance at ya." Saya's eyebrows rose. "What? You're cute, and if you're any kind of useful, you'd make a great mate."

"What if Haru had his eyes on me?"

"I know better than that. If he wanted you, he wouldn't be bringing you into our den unmarked—or at least scent marked. He doesn't want you like that. He may have the others fooled, but not me." Before she could question what he was saying, a dead boar dropped from the sky and landed on top of the male next to her right as he reached out his hand to place upon her shoulder.

"Satoshi, what did I say about touching her?" Saya turned her gaze upward and saw Haru standing on a cliff ledge above them gazing at them with arms crossed and a scowl on his face.

"It's Sato," he grunted pushing the corpse off of him and standing. "And I wasn't touching her."

Haru jumped down. "But you were going to."

"So? It's not like you have any claim on her."

Saya sighed. She didn't bother to comment that she was still within hearing distance; it would have only fallen upon deaf ears. It was just like when Inuyasha and Haru went at it. The two males were too focused on arguing with each other to notice anything within their vicinity. Instead, Saya began walking a little. She needed to stretch her legs, and she figured that once the two were done, they would follow to keep her safe—or at least just to keep an eye on her. She continued walking until she put a decent distance between the den but neither male followed after her. Curious, Saya returned.

Upon her arrival, she discovered Haru and Sato had disappeared from the entrance and everyone running about, almost in a panic. Male and female alike were gathering every kind of weapon possible: spears, bows and arrows, and swords to name a few. Saya searched the cave for anyone familiar that didn't pose as a potential threat to her wellbeing. She spotted Ayame shouting orders not far away; Saya hurried over to the other woman.

"What's going on?"

The alpha female turned to her. "Change of plans, we're attacking today. Some of our men have just returned from scouting—most were injured. We can no longer wait to end this war. We attack now. Prepare yourself, we leave once the weapons have been gathered. Go find Haruto and Koga. You will be accompanying them on this travel." Saya nodded and departed from the other female's side to do as instructed.

Using the feeling of the jewel fragments in their possession as her guide, she found them not far from Ayame, and when Haru saw her, he muttered something to his father before walking up to Saya. "You ready for this?"

"Do I have a choice?"

Haru grimaced. "No, I suppose not."

Saya sighed. "That's what I thought." Saya glanced around to take in what was happening around her. She knew the wolf demon tribe was preparing for war, and that she had just gotten caught in the middle of it all thanks to Haru. However, she couldn't bring herself to simply leave and let them down. Gathering herself, Saya stood tall and turned to Haru. "Let's get this over with."

He grinned in response. The two joined Koga and listened as he went over the plan again.

"Haruto, you will be in charge of the girl. Saya, when you sense the Shikon fragments, you let either of us know. Men, your job will be to help Haruto protect the girl and kill as many of those damned birds as possible. Ayame will be helping as much as she can with anyone who needs it. Everyone understand?" He glanced around to see everyone's confirmation. "Good, let's move out!"

Haru instantly knelt down for Saya to climb onto his back. Once she was situated, Haru grabbed onto her thighs and the tribe took off at an incredible speed. The wind rushing past was causing her eyes to water. Saya squinted in hopes of staving off most of the wind and regaining the ability to see. She couldn't be certain, but Saya thought that she caught sight of a flash red before she was forced to close her eyes against the great rush of wind.

Saya focused on trying to sense the presence of the Shikon jewel as Haru carried her. It wasn't until the group had been traveling for a while that Saya finally sensed something. "We're getting closer," she said in hopes to be heard over the rushing wind. She was thankful for his acute sense of hearing.

"Good, that means it's at home. We're almost to the nest of the birds. When we get there, just find out where it is, and then find yourself a place to hide. Got it?" Saya nodded her head against Haru's back. The tribe arrived shortly after.

As soon as the Yoro clan stepped foot into their territory, the birds began attacking. Haru maneuvered around everything that attempted to eat them. "Any idea where it is?"

"I think I sense it coming from the mountain."

Haru headed for the mountain, Koga and a few others following close behind. As the small group neared their destination, more birds bombarded them resulting in a number of the group to break off and defend themselves from their enemy. Soon, the only ones left were Haru, Koga, and Sato. Koga and Sato broke off to battle more birds to allow Haru the chance to locate the bird with the fragment.

"Hold on tight! This is gonna get bumpy." Saya barely had time to tighten her grip onto the fur on his shoulders before he sprung up, rebounding off the surface of the mountain to send them shooting for the summit.

Saya's eyes grew large as the presence of the Shikon shard was drawing closer. "It's just a little further up!"

"Further up? There's nothing up there!"

"I'm telling you, it's up there! About fifty feet up is my guess." After a moment's pause, Saya added, "It's here!" That moment was when the mountain side began crumbling and giant wings spread out from the falling debris, and the miko in training saw the largest bird she had seen (and probably would ever see). While the birds below fighting the rest of the tribe had only one blue, humanoid torso perched upon the top, this one had two. It was quite easily twice as big, if not three times larger than the others as well. Saya soon learned that it spoke as well when the humanoid torsos began cackling.

"We have been planning on attacking your tribe and taking the fragments you possess for ourselves, but you brought them to us. We must thank you for making things easier for us." They cackled with laughter again before diving for Haru. Thankfully, the wolf demon was faster than the large bird and Saya soon found herself being placed upon the ground.

"Sato! Look after her while my father and I take care of that bird brain!"

Sato nodded before grabbing Saya's arm and gently pulling her behind him. "Don't worry, we'll take care of ya." His cocky grin allowed her to calm just a small fraction of her anxieties before they skyrocketed once again. There was a bird headed directly toward them!

Sato turned around in time to see the threat and push Saya out of the way. He was not fast enough to get out the way of harm himself, however, and he was picked up in the talons of the bird demon.

"We have to help him!"

A tribe member shook his head. "It's hopeless now; he'll be eaten for sure."

Determination washed over Saya in waves. She would not let him die so easily after he had risked his life to save her. Frantically searching, Saya found a bow and a quiver of arrows laying discarded nearby. She rushed over, notching an arrow as she returned to her position and took aim. The arrow flew true, and hit its mark, slicing straight through the side of the bird, killing it instantly. Sato fell, landing on the corpse of the bird demon to cushion his fall. Saya grinned in satisfaction as Sato jogged back to them. She missed the looks of surprise and awe on the faces of those closest to her, as well as the murmurs of several of the tribe members quietly telling their comrades not to piss her off.

"Thanks, Sis. That was some shootin' back there."

"Thanks, but sis? Since when am I your sister?"

"I would like to think of you as my sister in arms. You're pretty bad ass, since you made that shot, so yeah. You're our sister now." There were a few whoops of agreement from the demons around her causing her to chuckle.

"Fine, brother." Sato grinned. Their joyous moment was short lived as a small cluster of birds appeared before beginning their attack on the group. One was headed straight at her, but before any of the wolves could react, it split in half with flash of light. Inuyasha jumped up from behind the halved corpse, and upon sighting Saya, stomped his way toward her. Sato stepped before her in an attempt to protect her from whatever threat the hanyou may bring, but Inuyasha simply deflected his attack and pushed him away from himself and away from Saya. Before he could open his mouth, Saya had disappeared from his sights and was instead behind him with the rest of their group. Inuyasha stood in place, fuming as the rest of the group conversed amongst themselves.

"Saya-chan! I am relieved you are safe."

Saya smiled at Sango before turning to Miroku when he spoke up.

"What is going on, Saya-san?"

"Right, there's an all-out war going on right now between the Yoro clan and the Birds of Paradise. Help for the wolf demons would be greatly appreciated."

"Understood." Miroku stepped forward and addressed the wolf demons who stood near him. "If you value your lives, stay behind me!" Grasping the prayer beads wrapped around his right arm, he pulled them off and unleased the power of his Wind Tunnel. Seconds after, he resealed it, and the sky was devoid of the birds except the large bird Koga and Haru were attempting to defeat. The wolf demons were left awestruck and quietly murmured their amazement.

Haru turned to see the group of comrades and cursed beneath his breath. The group showing up was something he did not want to deal with—especially because Inuyasha would likely want to pick a fight with him due to him kidnapping Saya. His suspicions were confirmed when Inuyasha shouted at him.

"Hey, mangy wolf, get down here so I can kick your ass for taking Saya!"

"I'm not in the mood to deal with you right now, Mutt-face. Go bark up another tree!"

Koga turned to his son. "Who are these people?"

"Some people I met during my mission to protect that kitsune pup. Saya is the one who now cares for the kit." Koga raised an eyebrow. "Apparently, its mom gave it to her. I tried to take it back, but nearly lost a body part for it. Besides, the pup has already bonded with her. It would be unwise to take it away."

Koga nodded. "Understood, now back to the task at hand."

Saya sighed as Inuyasha continued to shout obscenities at Haru. The other demons simply ignored him, causing him to renew his insults with vigor while following after them. Saya opened her mouth to tell the hanyou to give it a rest, but the returning of the fragment overtook her senses and startled a gasp out of her.

"Haru, it's coming back!"

Inuyasha paused mid-climb to glance back at her. "She's _helping_ him?" he muttered under his breath in aggravated disbelief.

"Where is it?"

"In its mouth!"

"Finally," Koga said with a cocky grin, "Time to end this!"

The older wolf demon jumped onto the bird demon. He grabbed the staff Haru tossed to him before attempting to stick the weapon into its mouth. The aerial demon used its tongue to shift the weapon to the lay horizontally in its mouth and slammed its jaws shut, effectively trapping Koga's arm between its teeth. The shard in his arm fell out, and the flying demon dropped Koga at the peak. Before he could retrieve it, the bird snatched it before taking to the skies once again. Haru scaled the mountain in seconds to appear at his father's side. When Haru saw the wound on his father's arm, he growled. The demon would pay for what he did to his father. The bird circled around and began attacking both wolf demons. When it took flight once again, it circled overhead a couple of times before descending to finish the demons.

Haru glanced up when he saw red appear beside him. Inuyasha stood glaring at the bird as it began its dive-bomb on the demons on the peak. "This isn't your fight, Mutt. Get out of here."

"It became my fight when you took Saya away to help you. Now sit there and witness true power." He withdrew his sword and took an offensive position. Waiting until he could see the clashing of the two energies, Inuyasha swung his sword, "Wind Scar!" The bird was torn to pieces within seconds and fell to the ground. He glanced over to see Sango and Saya riding upon Kirara's back coming over to them. Inuyasha walked away before Saya set foot onto the ground.

Once upon the ground, Inuyasha rejoined Miroku and Hiyori. He did not have to wait long before the females came back with Koga and Haru in tow. He soon found himself surrounded by the remaining wolf tribe members trying to make sure that their leaders were all right. After a while, Inuyasha had enough and pushed his way through the crowd.

"Well, now that I've taken care of the pigeon from hell, I can get on with kicking your ass for taking Saya."

Saya looked up at Inuyasha, her eyes narrowed and piercing. Haru's head lie on her lap while Shippo dug through her bag to get her first aid kit. "There will be no kicking of anyone's ass. Haru isn't up for anything."

"Please, this is nothing," the wolf demon said, pushing Sato away when he tried to stop him and starting to stand. "The only one that's gonna get their ass kicked is you, Dog breath."

A sigh of long suffering escaped from Saya's lips. "Haru, if you are well enough to fight, then you are well enough to take your father back to your den and treat his injuries. You may be fine, but he is not." When the wolf demon showed no signs of yielding, Saya decided to use the big guns. "Do you want me to get Ayame-san involved?" She saw both wolf demons pale instantaneously and mentally chuckled; she knew that would work. If there was one thing she learned during her time with the wolf tribe, it was to never have Ayame be annoyed with you. It would always end badly for the other party.

"Keh, he's not worth it anyway." Haru bent down to pick up his father, but Inuyasha had other plans.

"Where do you think you're going? We're not done here! Get back here!" He began walking forward to start a confrontation.

Saya stood and turned her annoyed gaze in the hanyou's direction. "Inuyasha, tsuke!" To her amusement, he fell exactly as he had when her mother had used her subjugation beads. It seemed they truly worked. Good to know!

"Damn it, wench! What the hell was that for?"

She waited until the entire tribe vacated the premise. "You were going to attack them, and they were already injured. Didn't seem like a fair fight. Besides, they were kind to me, so I returned the favor."

"Kind to you?! He kidnapped you!"

"He just wanted my help to protect his tribe! There is nothing wrong with that!"

"Then he should have just asked!"

"Like you would have allowed the detour! It saved him the trouble. Besides, I've already given him an earful about it, so just let it go."

Inuyasha growled and would have responded if a member of the tribe had not returned. Saya instantly recognized him as Satoshi.

"Haru just wanted me to give you this as a thank you." He placed a flower into her hand. It was a purple and white iris. It was beautiful.

"It's beautiful. Give him my thanks."

"No problem, Sis." He winked at her. Saya chuckled but still shook her head in slight exasperation. It seemed to her that all wolves wanted to piss off the hanyou where she was concerned.

"Sis?!" Inuyasha was not one to miss the term of endearment, apparently.

"Of course. She _is_ Haru's woman after all. Any woman of his is our sister." Saya bit back a groan. This would only irritate the hanyou more, and she seriously doubted she could take much more of his attitude toward the situation.

"Like hell she's his woman!" Inuyasha then lunged toward Sato.

"Tsuke. Sato, I think it's best if you leave now. It was nice meeting you all, and give Haru my thanks again."

"Right-o!" He gave a two-finger salute before dashing off. As he disappeared from view, Saya could not help thinking that Sato and Ayano were alike in many ways. It was a shame there was no way to allow them to meet. Something told her that the two would make a fabulous couple.

Inuyasha jumped up from the ground growling. "What the hell?"

Saya turned back to him with a bored expression. "What?"

"What the hell is wrong with you? They kidnap you, you were almost killed, and now you're sayin' that they were kind to you?"

"Yes."

He growled. "You make no sense!"

"And you're blowing this out of proportion! What does it matter that I think they were kind? That's my business. Everything has been dealt with, and now we can start on our journey again."

He huffed, crossing his arms and turning around. "I'm not blowing anything out of proportion! You're the one who seems to be taking their side over ours. Why don't you just go after that mangy wolf and join them?"

Saya narrowed her eyes. "Fine. Maybe I will. At least with them I'd be _appreciated_ for what I do."

He huffed again. "Whatever, this is stupid." He began jumping up the mountain toward the peak.

With a glance at the others, Saya shrugged before joining Sango on Kirara's back. Once Sango, Saya, and Miroku were situated onto the neko's back, they glanced at Hiyori. "Sorry, there is not enough room for you on her back. We can make another trip down if you would like."

"There is no need. I will find my way up there shortly."

With a shrug, the trio set off. After arriving, Saya walked up the where the two shards lie. She placed them into the jar around her neck. A few seconds later, she was joined by Hiyori.

"You should apologize. He seems as though he is protective of you. He was worried when you were gone, even if he didn't show it."

Saya glanced up at the sulking hanyou. He was stationed away from the group. He squatted into a crouched position and was staring over the edge of the cliff. She cautiously approached him before kneeling down next to him.

"I'm sorry I worried you, Inuyasha. Thank you for saving me."

He turned away. "I bet you didn't even want me to." Confusion spread over her entire being. What was he going on about? Of course she wanted him to come her aid. "Doesn't take much, does it? A little flower."

"What doesn't take much? Is it because Sato said that I was Haru's woman? Don't tell me you're jealous."

He growled, jumping to his feet. "Why would I be jealous of that flea bag? I don't care!"

 _I_ so _believe that one_ , she thought sarcastically. "I thought I've made it clear previously that I'm not interested in him."

"What you did previously stated otherwise."

"No, it didn't."

"Yes, it did!"

"No, it really didn't. I do care for him, but not in that way."

"I doubt he thinks of it like that!"

"So what if he does? That would be his problem, not yours!"

"If I have to keep seeing that annoying wolf around it is my problem!"

"God! Why is it that you males all refuse to use your heads and think?!"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!"

"Whatever!" Saya stood and stormed away toward Sango. "May I please borrow Kirara for a bit?"

"Uh, sure."

"Where the hell do you think you're going?!"

Saya turned around with a glare. "I'm going home, jackass!"

* * *

 _Hello all! I'm so sorry that it has taken me so long to update this story. I apologize if this chapter isn't as polished as my others. My normal beta has been busy, so I didn't bother her to ask if she could comb through it. I tried it myself, so bare with me, please. If there is anything that you noticed that needs some attention, let me know, so I can fix it. Thank you much! As always, let me know what you thought, and stay tuned for the next chapter. Thank you all again for putting up with such long periods between chapters. Thanks again! ~Saph_


	8. Chapter 8: A Fateful Encounter

_I just realized that I haven't been responding to reviews in the last chapter. I'm so sorry! T-T I'm a horrible human being... Anyway, here it goes!_

 _ **Superkkrocks:** Thank you, thank you very much :P Thank you very much. I enjoyed writing it as well_

 ** _Timewriter:_** _I believe you might be right about that theme song XD_

 ** _Kiteou-kun:_** _Thank you very much, and I plan on it :P_

 ** _James Birdsong:_** _Thank you_ _:)_

 _And now, onto the main event! Hope you enjoy!_

* * *

 **Chapter 8: A Fateful Encounter**

Saya sighed in contentment as she awoke from her slumber. She had not slept that well in what felt like forever—she blamed the cold, hard ground. Her bed felt like heaven! She knew she should start getting ready to head back, but she was enjoying her time to relax. Call her selfish, but she wanted to spend some time in her era for a bit longer before she returned to the grumpy hanyou and continued her arduous training while searching for the Shikon no Tama fragments.

She stretched before cringing. Her phone began blaring the song "Call Me Maybe" (Saya still had yet to figure out how to change it, much to her chagrin). Ayano was calling. Quickly answering the electronical device to silence the blasted thing, Saya greeted her friend.

"Hey there!"

 _"_ _Hey there? Really?! You don't answer your phone for weeks, and when you finally do, you answer with 'hey there'?!"_

Saya chuckled at how melodramatic Ayano was being. "Nice to hear from you too. Sorry I haven't answered—haven't exactly been in areas with the best cell reception." _Yeah, like_ no _reception_ , she added mentally.

She heard the other female huff on the other side of the line. "Fine. Suppose there's nothing you can do about that. Where've you been? What've you been doing?"

Saya glanced at the clock on her wall. "Why don't we meet up for lunch, talk about it then?" When she heard her friend's agreement, Saya suggested a restaurant close to the halfway point for the two to meet up. After agreeing, the two bid each other farewell. Saya quickly readied herself and headed downstairs to greet her family.

She smiled as she entered the kitchen. Her mother stood at the sink, washing the dishes from breakfast while her father attempted to get Daichi to stay put and eat the remainder of his snack. Not much seemed to have changed with her absence. Deciding she had wasted enough time just staring at them, Saya decided it was time to make her presence known.

"Morning!" She walked over to Daichi and ruffled the child's hair. "Good morning, Daichi."

"Nee-chan!" The child instantly demanded a hug from his older sister, his snack now a forgotten memory.

"When did you get in?" Her mother turned to glance at her with her hands still submerged in sudsy water.

"Last night."

"Did something happen with the others?" Her concern was almost a physical entity.

"Inuyasha is a pain in the rear end, Momma. How could you tolerate him for so long?"

Kagome laughed, the tension from worry instantly dissipating. "He grows on you after a while."

Saya huffed while crossing her arms. "Well, it's gonna take a lot longer for me, apparently."

Hojo stared at his daughter for a moment. "Have you started eating healthier? You certainly look as though you have."

"Started working out recently. My trainer has a very cruel sense of humor," she responded slowly, knowing what was bound to follow. She wasn't wrong.

Her father grinned widely. "I'm so proud of you! You've finally started taking your health seriously!"

Saya glanced at the time on her phone nervously. "Oh, look at the time!" She started backing away toward the door. "Meeting Ayano for lunch. Love you, bye!" She was out the door before either of her parents could blink. Talk about healthy habits still made her uncomfortable, it seemed. Having an extreme health nut in the family tended to have that effect on people.

As Saya dashed to the café, she noticed that she was not losing her breath as quickly as she had before she started her training with Hiyori. Maybe it actually was working… She also arrived a minute or two faster than she normally would have. Saya chalked that up as an accomplishment. Once inside the establishment, Saya double-checked to make sure Ayano hadn't arrived early before requesting a table for two. Saya took her seat, but didn't have long to wait as Ayano arrived.

"I'm surprised that you got here before than I did. Normally you're late."

Saya laughed sheepishly about the statement. "Yeah…Gonna try to stop doing that."

"Good. It's not very becoming of a young lady to continuously show up late to dates." Ayano winked at her from over the top of the menu with a mischievous smirk. The two shared a small bout of giggles. "But seriously, how have you been? I haven't seen you or Hikari-chan in so long."

Before Saya could respond, the waitress came to take their drink orders. After promising to give them a few minutes to look over the menu, the server departed to retrieve their drinks.

"Haven't been too bad—been spending all my time helping my mother and a few other people with something. It forces me to be without my phone for a while—weeks on end, actually. Some of the people that I'm traveling with aren't _too_ bad, but there's one guy that just drives me crazy—"

"So you've been traveling around too? Is it with that one guy that was at your house and at graduation? The one you thought was cute."

Leave it to Ayano to jump to the correct conclusions. "Unfortunately. He's the one that's been driving me crazy! One minute he seems to _almost_ care about how I feel and the next he's yelling at me for some reason or another. I swear, that guy…"

Ayano took a sip of her drink. "Tell me more about him and how he's been acting."

The waitress chose that moment to return and take their orders. Quickly glancing at the menu, Saya ordered the first thing that looked decent. Ayano seemed to know what she wanted already and just ordered a cheeseburger. After making sure that everything would be to their satisfaction, the waitress left to put their orders in. Once sure she was gone for now, Saya continued with her story.

"Well, we ran into another guy that's been continuously doing things to purposefully piss Inuyasha off—guy I'm annoyed with. Anyway, some of the stuff he's doing is calling me his woman, making claims on me, things like that. He says it all jokingly. He knows that nothing could or would happen. I've been very clear about that, but he still likes do this stuff to piss off Inuyasha.

"Like what just happened the other day: the guy needed help doing something to keep his family safe, but instead of just asking for my help like a normal human being, he sweeps me off my feet—literally—and takes me away from our group."

Ayano's eyes widened as she set her drink down with a small thud. "He kidnapped you?"

Saya rolled her eyes. "More or less, but then he explained what was happening and why he needed my help. I agreed to help him after I gave him a nice earful for pretty much abducting me."

Relief flooded her before she gave a shit-eating grin. "That's my girl."

After pausing for a short bark of laughter, Saya continued. "So, after things started, it got a little rocky. I almost got hurt multiple times, but everyone kept looking out for me. Then Inuyasha shows up and just takes care of everything. After it was done and over with, he starts yelling at the guy for taking me away. When I defend him, Inuyasha turns to me and starts yelling at me."

Ayano hummed in thought, twirling the melting ice in her cup with her straw. "It seems to me that he was just worried about you."

"If he was so damn worried, why did he go off the deep end and start yelling at me?"

The waitress left fresh drinks for the two, as theirs were beginning to run a little low. She told them their food was almost done before leaving to check on her other tables. With an appreciative smile sent her way, Ayano emptied her first glass of sweet tea before placing her straw in the other cup. Returning her attention to her friend, she went through her friend's questions with a roll of her eyes.

"He's a male, Saya. Males can't show their emotions like we females can—especially guys like this Inuyasha fellow. He seems to be the type to hold everyone at an arm's length to avoid getting hurt, but when he does let people close to him, he cares for them deeply. If something were to happen to them, it would not go well for him."

"And the yelling?"

"Defense mechanism," she replied nonchalantly with a shrug of her shoulders. "This is all speculation, of course, because I've never actually _met_ the guy."

Saya set her second cup of soda down and gazed at Ayano with a mixture of exasperation and amusement. "Is that a hint?"

"You bet your sweet ass that was a hint!"

Saya dissolved into a fit of laughter and watched in amusement as their waitress approached their table with their food. She gave an odd look to both females before leaving them to their own devices. Ayano and Saya glanced at each other before both erupted into laughter. She had missed this so much.

Saya had suggested venturing to the shopping center nearby once the two had finished their meals and paid. Saya needed to pick up some clothes that would be better suited for traveling in the Feudal Era than what she had originally packed. Jeans were a must!

Once the duo arrived, however, Saya became distracted with the sales many of the stores were advertising; tons of the clearance clothes were adorable. She knew she should focus only on the items that were a necessity, but it was so tempting to purchase something else. There were so many cute clothes! Saya had to keep reminding herself that the likeliness of her being able to wear said cute articles of clothing would be minimal due to the fact that she would not be in a place that would allow for such a style. Practical, sturdy clothing were required, no matter how much she wished otherwise. She was replacing yet another cute shirt back on the rack when Ayano seemed to notice.

"What are you doing? That shirt is _adorable_! You should get it."

Saya grimaced. "Yeah, it is, but I probably wouldn't be able to wear it all that often. You know, traveling and all, and where I have to be, there aren't a whole lot of options for cute clothing."

"Well, that sucks."

"You're telling me. I need to wear sturdy, practical clothing. Like jeans, tees, and tennis shoes. It's super annoying, but at least I don't have to wear a skirt."

Ayano chuckled at her friend's random optimism. "Well, if those are the clothes you need to wear, the least we can do is find _cute_ , practical clothes."

Saya grinned; Ayano was always one to find the best out of less than favorable situations.

Inuyasha stared at the well with impatience. Where the hell was that girl? She should have been back by now. Kagome would have been… The thought made Inuyasha pause. He was right, _Kagome_ would have been back—but Saya was not Kagome, just like Kagome was not Kikyo. Saya wasn't like any female he knew. She was, honestly, similar to Kagome in only a few ways, and the only thing she had in common with Kikyo (the only other female he was slightly close with) was the fact that they could almost pass as sisters in appearance. The attributes Saya had in common with Kagome was her appearance (they really were almost spitting images of one another) and their temperaments were of similar nature. She was also as loud as her mother when they shouted at him. Sometimes, he forgot that he wasn't dealing with Kagome but her daughter. Everything else was different.

For that reason, he had no idea how to handle her. (If he were to be perfectly honest with himself, he wasn't that great at handling any of the females in his life, but he wasn't going to go there.) Which lead him to his current dilemma: what should he do about the missing miko? Would she come back on her own? Or would he have to go and get her? Something told him that she would not return unless he dragged her, but he had hoped to avoid that. It would likely involve shouting, and if she was anything like Kagome, it would most likely hurt his sensitive ears. However, they needed to continue their search for the jewel shards. With one final deliberation, he stood and jumped into the well.

Saya stared in awe at the outfits Ayano had given to her to try on. She definitely followed the requirements. Each one consisted of sturdy clothes, but they were all cute or fashionable. She really needed to take Ayano shopping more often. She tried on an outfit before stepping out of the dressing room for Ayano to inspect.

"Turn around." Saya obeyed her friend's command. Ayano hummed in thought. "Looks good, but I'm sure there could be better. Those jeans look really good on you. Makes your ass look fantastic! Have you started working out?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I have a little bit." _Yeah,_ thought Saya, _I've been working out, alright. Hiyori keeps torturing me as a means of training me. I suppose it shows…_

"Lookin' good, hot stuff," Ayano joked with a wink and a giggle. "Go try on another outfit."

Saya disappeared into the dressing room again with a chuckle. As she exited the room, she saw a flash of red. Realization dawned on her before the dread set in as she saw Inuyasha drop directly before her.

"What the hell are you doing? We need to get going to collect the jewel shards."

In a mildly panicked second, Saya glanced to see if Ayano was looking. Thankfully, she was examining a stand with more jeans stacked on top. Saya instantly grabbed onto Inuyasha and dragged him back into the dressing room. The hanyou stood there confused as Saya glanced back out. When she returned facing him with a sigh, Inuyasha's confusion multiplied. What was she doing? "Did you hear me, wench? We need to—"

"Yes," she said interrupting the hanyou, "I get that, but I want to spend some time here. I haven't seen my friends in a while." Her voice was lower in volume than usual.

"You can come back here all you want once we get the jewel shards!"

While Inuyasha did not lower his voice, she continued to speak in hushed tones. "So thoughtful, but guess what: I'm coming back here anyway!"

"We need to collect the shards!"

"Saya?" Said female tensed. "You okay in there?"

Saya glanced toward Inuyasha. "Uh, yeah. I'm fine. Just struggling with this zipper."

"You want my help?"

Saya heard the humor in her voice, and under different circumstances, she would have laughed. Currently, it only made her nerves and tension spike. "Uh, I think I'll be okay." She tried to laugh it off, but it came out as a nervous, almost hysterical bubble of laughter. She turned to Inuyasha and hissed to him, "Go back to my house. I'll be there in a bit."

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes. Why was she acting this way? He took in a whiff of her scent and noticed that nervousness, fear, and irritation were the main three emotions racing through her. Was she in some kind of danger? Her nerves spiked when the other female called out to check if she was still alright. Her friend seemed to be the main source of her nervousness, much to Inuyasha's confusion.

"You okay in there?"

"Yeah, just give me a second." She turned to Inuyasha and hissed, "Go."

"No."

Saya grit her teeth in agitation and exasperation. A guttural sound escaped from her throat as she glared at the stubborn hanyou before her.

Was that a growl he just heard from her? That did not seem possible. She wasn't a hanyou nor was she any type of animal. Where did that come from? While he was musing over that question, Saya was conflicted as to what to do.

She really did not want Ayano to see Inuyasha, but on the other hand, the other female _did_ want to meet him and would be pissed if (and that was a big if) she ever found out that he had been nearby and she hadn't been able to meet him because Saya had sent him away. At the same time, however, Saya really did not want Inuyasha to meet anyone quite yet. His ears and choice of clothing would attract far too much attention, not to mention the fact that he had a tendency to be crass and speak whatever came to his mind—no matter what it was. She also seriously doubted she could convince Ayano that his ears were just an accessory for a cosplay like she had with her father—the girl was far too perceptive for that. The only options were to anger her friend later on in life (if she ever found out about the hanyou's presence in the dressing room with her), or have Ayano and Inuyasha meet. Saya really was not happy with either option. While Saya continued her internal debate, she failed to realize how long she had kept Ayano waiting, who stood outside the dressing room Saya locked herself into.

What was taking that girl so long? How long does it take to change into a pair of jeans and a different shirt? Even with zipper problems… She pulled out her phone to check the time. While she was replacing her phone into her pocket, she heard a shriek of surprise. It was Saya. Ayano took a step forward to check on her friend, only to have to jump backward in order to avoid the door that swung open. She did not land gracefully. With her posterior throbbing in pain, Ayano snapped her head up to yell at her friend—only to stop with her mouth gaped open. Standing before her was a male dressed in traditional red robes, long silver hair, gold eyes, and….were those dog ears on his head? The detail that stuck her the most, however, was her best friend strung over his shoulder like Santa's bag at Christmas time. Her friend was fruitlessly hitting said male on his back with her fists.

Ayano was only brought out of her stupor when her friend groaned, "Put. Me. Down." Instead of responding, the male only scoffed before turning his attention to Ayano. Said female, now standing, stared at the duo with an extremely flabbergasted expression. Ayano's confusion turned to curiosity when noticed that Saya's face was beginning to resemble the color of the male's garbs. An image from graduation popped into her head of the guy Saya had thought was cute. Putting two and two together, a mischievous smile slithered onto her lips.

"You wouldn't happen to be Inuyasha, would you?"

"Uh, yeah. What's it to ya?" His eyes began to narrow.

Her smile expanded into a grin before she leaned over to gaze at Saya, amusement and mischief dancing within her irises. "I can see why you think he's cute." Saya's face deepened in color. "Wow, I didn't think it was physically possible to resemble a grape so closely."

"Shut _up_ Ayano!" Said girl chuckled at her friend's misfortune.

Saya heaved an exaggerated sigh of relief once the trio arrived at the shrine. The return trip had been far more stressful than the young miko in training had anticipated. Inuyasha kept attracting attention unknowingly with his ears and the way he was so jumpy with the passing vehicles. Ayano kept glancing curiously at the hanyou every time he would act oddly. Saya couldn't have been happier when they finally arrived at the shrine.

"So, what do you do for a living, Inuyasha?"

Saya was wrong. She was so very wrong. She was _not_ happy they were back at the shrine, in her room, conversing—well, Ayano was doing most of the talking. Inuyasha and Saya only commented when asked a question. For the hanyou, it was becoming a rather regular occurrence. His ire started growing.

"What…do you mean?"

"I _mean_ , what do you do where you live?"

"Oh, I hunt demons."

Saya had tried to stop him from saying so but failed miserably. Ayano turned to her friend, confusion and concern in her expression. Saya had tried to keep the information that Inuyasha was a half-demon a secret from her friend, but the silver-haired male was not making the task any easier. She would likely have tell her friend the whole story about what was going on in her life later—if at all. Saya heaved a long-suffering sigh.

A short, awkward pause passed through the trio before Saya spoke up. "Ayano-chan, I think we actually need to get going again here soon. It's gonna take some time for me to get ready, and then it will take a little bit before we arrive at our destination. We need to get back before it gets too late."

"Of course," she nodded while standing. She turned to the hanyou, albeit a little awkwardly. "It was nice to finally meet you, Inuyasha."

He nodded quietly, deciding it was best not to comment—if only for the sake of his ears should he actually say what he wanted to. The thought of dealing with an irate Saya _and_ Kagome was the reason the hanyou did not say anything else to the annoying female.

Once her friend was seen to the stairs, Saya turned to the male next to her. "Was there a _reason_ you told Ayano-chan about the demons?" she asked with exasperation and annoyance.

"She asked the question, so I answered. What's the deal?"

"Because," Saya grit out, "there aren't any demons here. In fact, I'm sure it has been a long time since humans have even seen or heard from demons."

Inuyasha scoffed. "Well, she shouldn't be puttin' her nose where it doesn't belong. That's what she gets for askin' stupid questions like those."

Saya determined that Inuyasha was going to be the death of her—if only from having to deal with Ayano and all her questions the next time she returned to her time period.

* * *

 _I am so sorry it took me so long to update this story! Full-time job, life, and a boyfriend tend to take up a lot of my time. Sorry again. Anywho, please let me know what you thought of this chapter. I love the input! Helps keep me motivated to continue this story. Until next time, loves._

 _~Saph_


	9. Chapter 9: A Frightening Moment

_**Responses to Reviews:**_

 _ **Timewriter:** Of course I revised; it's kinda in the job description... :P I know, I'm slacking majorly in the transitional ways... T-T I'm gonna try to fix that with chapter 10 and 11 for sure :)_

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 **Chapter 9: A Frightening Moment**

Naraku stared at the saimyosho hovering before him, a frown marring his features. The troublesome group had reappeared—not only that, but there were new additions. The new members could pose a threat to his plan. The addition of a wolf demon, the special kitsune, and the new miko were sure to complicate things. As well as the replacement of Kikyo's incarnation with another female of a similar appearance. The information was not something that Naraku had wished to receive after thirty years of collecting the fragments without much competition—and believing them to be gone for good. Add to this mixture that Kikyo herself was still walking amongst the living, and Naraku found himself teetering on the edge of a plateau that could lead to the destruction of his plans. On top of that, Naraku found himself still unable to kill the undead miko. He was now immersed in a problem that held too many variables for his liking. Something must be done. With that thought in mind, the black haired hanyou began devising ways to resolve his conundrum.

When an idea finally came to mind, a malicious grin slithered onto his lips. It would be rather complicated and must be properly executed; one foul-up could send the entire plan crashing to smoldering smithereens. It would also require his direct involvement—something he was not overly fond of doing—but if it meant the end to one major variable, he deemed the outcome worth the risk. With that thought at the forefront of his mind, he summoned an incarnation that he had been saving for a special occasion. A young girl appeared out of the darkness; a small, silver mirror was held to the abdomen of her white robes by pale hands. Her deep, black eyes held no emotion as she approached her master.

"Your time has finally arrived to earn your keep."

The demoness knelt down in a bow, her white hair covering her face. "Of course, Master Naraku."

"One of the saimyosho will assist you in your mission."

"Yes, Master Naraku."

"Go." He tossed a fragment of the Shikon no Tama toward the demoness. She placed it onto the frame of her mirror, and in the next second, he was alone. Lowering his robe from his torso, his scar that resembled a spider located on his back began to pulse and bubble along the surface of his skin. Soon, he was faced with an infant, and his chest felt much lighter. He grinned maliciously. Phase one should begin shortly.

Saya sighed on the return trip from training with Hiyori. It was yet another session of dodging fatal objects with the light miko. On the bright side, she seemed to be improving—she didn't get hit with nearly as many of the projectiles hurdled in her direction as she had the first time they had played the light miko's game. This fact, however, did not keep her from being completely and utterly sore and tired after said training was finished. She was less so than the first time (she could still walk!), but her muscles were still aching with fatigue.

Saya glanced at Yue as she rode on Hiro's head. The young pup seemed quite content to remain there for the entirety of the day. Saya was thankful to discover another decent sitter for (one of) the kitsunes. She had been quite confused that morning when Hiyori had told Saya to not bother giving the pup to Sango while she trained; when they arrived and Hiro sat on the sidelines, Saya quickly understood and gave the slumbering kitsune to the wolf to watch while the mikos trained. Yue woke up some time during her training but seemed content enough to stay lying on the wolf as to not bother her adopted mother. As the duo finished the training session, however, the pup was once again fast asleep, and she stayed that way throughout the remainder of the trip back to camp. Upon arrival, the two females quickly gathered their belongings, and the group set off not long after.

"Hey, Hiyori, got a question for ya." The light priestess turned toward her student. "You said that before I could begin my real, spiritual training, I had to improve my physical abilities, right?" She received a nod in reply. "Well, about how much longer do you think it will be before I start the actual training?"

The other woman put on a thoughtful expression. "You have progressed quite well in the short time that we have been together, so I should say within the next month you will begin training your strengths on the spiritual side of the spectrum."

"A month?!" Saya groaned. "I thought it would be a lot sooner than that."

Hiyori chuckled. "You wish to increase the difficulty of your training? I was under the impression that you were not yet comfortable enough to move on."

"Maybe, but I just really want to get this done and over with."

Hiyori giggled at Saya's deadened tone. "Impatience will only lead to later troubles. It is best to progress at the rate you are and not strain yourself. If you were to attempt to train your spiritual abilities, you would not last long. While your reflexes and stamina have improved greatly, you are not quite at the level required for my spiritual training. Just give it time."

Saya groaned but didn't protest further. She perked up, however, when she heard Hiyori speak again. "It seems as though your pup is getting stronger each day. She has been livelier recently, has she not?"

Saya nodded with a smile. "Yeah, she's been up and about while we break for lunch. She seems to have taking a liking to playing with Shippo at that time too."

"Perhaps your training will be started ahead of schedule after all." The way the miko smiled at Saya made her believe that the other woman knew something she didn't and found great amusement in the information.

"You know something you aren't sharing?"

Hiyori shook her head. "You shall see. Come, it is almost time to break for lunch."

Saya scowled but said nothing more on the matter. She redirected her attention when Inuyasha suddenly stopped.

Inuyasha gazed warily down a particularly deserted road the group traveled upon. Something felt off. He sniffed the air, trying to discover if the breeze carried any scent of the ominous feeling he was receiving. He picked up the scent of blood, no minute amounts either. His body instantly tensed. In his peripheral vision, he saw Haru approaching him on his left.

"So you smell it too, huh? This can't be good."

"What isn't good?" Saya spoke as she approached with Hiyori and Sango right behind her. Shippo rested upon Miroku's shoulder who brought up the rear. "What isn't good, Haru? What do you guys smell?"

"There's blood in the air. A lot of it. Get ready, and then we head out. Just be on alert." Everyone followed Inuyasha's orders without hesitation. Sango walked a short distance into the woods to change. Hiyori guarded her. Saya made quick work of setting up her bow and arrows and maneuvering her bag in to a better position as to not get in her way. Shippo shook on Miroku's shoulder, the scent of blood already almost overwhelming the small child, while the monk checked his inventory of sutras and the sturdiness of his staff. Inuyasha glanced at the wolf demon next to him. He hoped he wouldn't get in the way.

"Hey, Mutt. Do me a favor and don't get in my way."

The hanyou tightened his grip on the hilt of the sword at his side. "Funny, I was gonna say the same thing."

Haru turned to him with a cocky grin before it vanished a moment later. "Seriously though, be careful."

Inuyasha blinked, taken aback. "Uh, yeah. You…too." He was confused. His curiosity, however, would have to wait as everyone finished preparing and stood behind him once again. Kirara walked faithfully next to her human. The group took off in silence, everyone tense as they ventured down the path.

As they continued, the scent of blood grew stronger. Inuyasha had to cover his nose with his robe. Haru looked pained as well. Shippo, however, was completely gone. He passed out due to being extremely nauseous and lightheaded from the overwhelming scent. Kirara whined quietly due to the scent. Thankfully, Hiro and Yue appeared to be faring much better. Sango directed Kirara over to them in hopes that she would feel better as well. Her condition improved almost instantly. Miroku then placed Shippo on the wolf as well. He regained consciousness not long after and slowly crawled onto the wolf's back to lay down. When asked why that was so, Hiyori simply smiled and stated that Hiro was not an ordinary wolf. Soon, even the humans could smell it.

"Agh," Saya whispered in disgust. "This is horrible. Now I know why Shippo passed out on us a while back."

"Yeah," Sango whispered back, though her voice was slightly distorted due to the mask she wore. "It must be horrible for Inuyasha and Haru. Their sense of smell is even more sensitive than ours."

"So is our hearing, now shut up." Inuyasha's eye twitched when he heard Saya's quiet giggle and Sango's huff of annoyance. The group continued in silence once again. It wasn't until they reached the village that anyone made a noise again.

Saya gasped in horror at the vision before her. The entire town had been massacred: bodies laid in pieces, entrails of organs could be seen, a limb lay near them but was too distorted to identify what it was and the worst part: the village was literally painted in blood. It was splattered all over the buildings and soaking into the dirt, giving it a muddied hue of brown and red. Not even the children had been spared—their corpses mangled, eyes still open in fear. Saya's vision blurred as tears gathered in her eyes. Who could do such a thing? _What_ could do such a thing? Her question was soon answered as maniacal laughter filled the air.

Searching for the source, everyone tensed. Beneath the pile of corpses nearest to them, rose a bloodied body. It was exceedingly tall (well over eight feet was Saya's guess), covered in dark, purple fur, and possessed a large mouth filled to the brim with sharp, serrated fangs. Its eyes, when they turned in the group's direction, were large and dark. The sclera was the darkest black Saya had ever seen. The irises were a red the color of the blood the creature had shed from its victims. It walked upright, and had sharp claws on both its hands and feet. The claws looked as though they could shred right through a person without as much as a bat of an eye. When its gaze finally settled, it rested solely on Saya's person. It grinned, fangs glittering dangerously.

"You are in possession of some jewel shards. I want them now." Its voice was deep and gravelly. "Give them to me now, and I may just let you live."

The hanyou scoffed. "Is that what you told them too?" he asked indicating with his thumb the townspeople. The beast laughed, a loud noise that did not seem to belong in such a beast.

"Oh, a wise guy, huh?" He chuckled again. "Well, it appears you have seen right through my pretense. Give me the jewel shards now."

"Like hell we're going to do that."

In the time it took Saya to blink, Inuyasha was sent flying into the nearest standing structure, which happened to be a sturdy barn. When it came down around the hanyou, the bodies of the animals inside were exposed as well. This thing killed _everything_. Not even the animals had been spared. Why? What was the purpose of it all?

Righteous fury welled up inside Saya. "Hey!" It turned its attention from Inuyasha, who was struggling to get back up, to her. "Why did you do this?"

"Do what?" The malicious and knowing grin on its face showed that it was anything but ignorant as to the answer of the question.

Saya answered anyway. "Kill everything. You spared nothing in this place. Even the children and animals have all died at your hand! What did you have to gain by doing all this? What was even the point?!"

"The point?" The thing scratched his chin. "Well, I guess you could say the reason I did this was because I was just…bored." It even had the audacity to shrug nonchalantly.

Saya started vibrating with anger. All of this destruction and death was because this bastard was **_bored_**?! Before she could do anything about her anger, she saw a flash of red that knocked the demon back a step or two. Inuyasha landed before their group. His sword was still in its scabbard at his hip, but his fists were clenching and unclenching in his anger. His claws were out and he was _pissed_. Saya could feel the anger radiating off the irate hanyou.

The giant of a demon quickly recovered with a loud bark of laughter. "Oh, it seems that I set off a nerve. Come now, try me again. This time, I won't be surprised." Its thin lips pulled back into a malicious grin.

Inuyasha wasted no time in withdrawing his sword and launching another attack on the demon. The demon was surprisingly agile for how large it was. It dodged Inuyasha's attacks as though they were nothing. It had a bit of a more difficult time when Haru decided it was his time to join the fray. With Inuyasha and Haru working together, they managed to land several solid blows to the demon. It was not enough, however.

As soon as the opportunity presented itself, the demon swung its massive arms and knocked both opposing demons away. Sango rushed in, releasing Hiraikotsu. It was deflected before it could do any damage. Saya readied an arrow and released. It hit the mark, creating a medium sized hole in the demon's shoulder. It turned to the miko in training; its gaze was murderous. It flung its arm in an attempt to grab onto Saya. Instincts kicked in, and Saya dove out of the way. Huh, looks like those training sessions _were_ paying off…

Hiyori dashed to stand before her, erecting a solid barrier before them. Offering a hand, the light miko quickly pulled Saya to her feet. "Shall we try again?" With a nod, Saya notched another arrow before loosing it as well. This one hit closer to the target than before, creating a small cavity in the demon's pectoral. It roared in pain before lashing out at the females again. Hiyori's barrier held strong as the two stood their ground, Saya notching another arrow. Inuyasha and Haru jumped back into attacking the demon.

Haru managed to land a few punches and hard kicks, but he was quickly pushed back again. Inuyasha stood his ground and concentrated on finding the clashing energies where the wind scar resided. Upon finding it, he swung his blade, shouting his attack. The demon's reflexes proved to be great as it jumped to avoid the attack. It wasn't able to completely avoid the blow, only managing to escape with its right arm injured by the wind scar. Multiple lacerations adorned its arm; all of them dripped a blueish-purple liquid. When the liquid came in contact with the ground, the ground began to sizzle and steam. Sango quickly approached the duo of females taking refuge behind the erected barrier.

"It would be wise for us to avoid all physical contact with the demon from now on. It's acid, and from what I can see, it is extremely potent. It will likely eat away at your skin in seconds."

"Noted," came the tense reply from Saya. Hiyori nodded.

The demon slayer stood and prepared to release her weapon. Before she could do so, however, the demon swung its injured arm in their direction. "We'll never get anywhere at this rate," the demon slayer grunted. The females watched as Miroku threw sutra at the demon. They were, unfortunately, ineffective against their opponent. It only laughed at the monk. Miroku ran forward, raising his staff, and began attacking the demon as much as he could. He was knocked back shortly after. The monk made his way toward the females, hand clutching onto his side in pain, and Hiyori expanded her barrier to accommodate everyone.

Saya took a quick survey of her surroundings. Inuyasha and Haru were giving the demon their all: swinging with sword, fists, and legs. When they would get batted away, they would instantly rush back in to continue their assault. Sango's Hiraikotsu seemed unable to make a solid blow, while Miroku's staff could, but he was injured. Hiyori was protecting the group of four with her barrier. Saya could fire off some sacred arrows, but there wasn't much else she could do at this point in time. An idea struck Saya. She turned to Sango and Miroku.

"Do you think you could use Miroku's staff as a means to help Hiraikotsu do more damage to the demon?"

The demon slayer and monk shared a look before shrugging. "I suppose that could work. It's worth a try, at least."

"Good, why don't you two go over there and set that up? I'll stay here with Hiyori and distract the bastard to keep his focus off of you two. Sound good?" Everyone nodded before dispersing. Saya turned to Hiyori. "Shall we?" With a smile and nod shared between the two, Saya prepared herself for what was next.

Saya stood and took aim. Releasing another arrow, she ducked back down below the protection of the barrier when the beast turned its attention back toward the mikos. When it struck out with its arm again toward the barricade, Inuyasha and Haru jumped back into the fight. The demon had a difficult time keeping up with which side was attacking and eventually had enough. Using both arms, it attacked both groups at once. That was when Sango released her boomerang. It tore through both arms before either made contact with either party. The demon roared in pain as the appendages fell to the ground with a jarring _thud_. That was when it turned its attention toward the demon slayer and monk. With a cry of fury, it dove after them. Kirara abandoned her post on Hiro's back (who stayed back and out of the way, protecting the young kits) and ran toward her human, flames engulfing her small form before she swooped down and took to the sky in order to avoid the attack. It only angered the demon more.

By this point, it seemed to Saya that the opposing demon was delirious with pain and rage. It seemed to have no plan of attack, only to try to stomp on whatever came close enough to it. Inuyasha and Haru kept trying to land more blows on the demon.

Inuyasha jumped up to take a swing at its head, but was surprised when the demon turned its head and bit down on the Tessaiga. Inuyasha was forced to leap away without his weapon. To the shock of everyone, the demon proceeded to crush the fang sword until it broke into three pieces.

"It…broke Tessaiga…"

Inuyasha was so stupefied that his brain did not register the fact that the demon was charging his way. Inuyasha was sent skyward and had no time to avoid the second blow as he was falling. The demon jumped up to reach him and sent him crashing to the ground, landing on top of him. Inuyasha cried out in pain. Saya heard the sound of bones crunching from her distance away. Haru attempted to get to Inuyasha, but the demon kept jumping onto the downed hanyou and kicking everything else way without care. Only when Inuyasha ceased moving and shouting in pain did the demon stop, apparently bored with his now dead plaything.

It turned its attention toward Haru, who growled in anger. He charged toward the demon in a blind rage. It had killed one of his comrades: Someone he could almost consider a friend; a potential brother-in-arms. It would pay dearly—with its own life! Haru began to pummel the ever-living daylights out of the demon for a few seconds before he was sent soaring through the air. He crashed painfully into one of the buildings nearby.

Before anyone could react and resume their assaults on one another, a surging demonic energy reached everyone's senses. Everyone turned to see Inuyasha slowly standing, his hunched over form seemed off somehow to Saya. When his head snapped up, Saya understood why. There were purple marks across his cheekbones. His fangs had lengthened, as had his claws. However, the most startling change of his appearance was his sclera had changed from white to blood red while his irises changed to a cerulean blue. He truly looked demonic. Inuyasha turned his attention to the armless demon and growled.

The opposing demon stared at Inuyasha for a moment before laughing. "It seems as though our fun is just beginning."

Inuyasha growled menacingly before he charged the towering demon. The large demon was taken by surprise from the increase in the hanyou's speed as the smaller demon seemed to blink into existence before it. Inuyasha jumped into the air and lashed out his claws, tearing into the already handicapped demon with extreme force. The demon stumbled backward away from the attack. Inuyasha followed it. The behemoth of a demon attempted to break Inuyasha like it had his sword, but the hanyou proved to be much too fast for the demon. With a flash of his elongated claws, Inuyasha tore his enemy into pieces.

When the chunks fell to the ground, Inuyasha remained crouched on the ground. When he finally stood, he turned back toward the group. The hanyou rose his now bloodied hand to his face and stared at his claws with a sort of fascination.

Haru slowly stepped closer to Inuyasha. "Inuyasha, you okay?" Inuyasha's head snapped toward the wolf demon and he began to growl, baring his elongated fangs. "Hey! I'm on your side, here! Back off!" Inuyasha lunged at Haru.

Saya stared at the scene before in shock. Her brain did not seem to be able to process what exactly had happened or was happening. She knew that he was called a hanyou because he was exactly that: half human and half demon. She didn't understand what was happening. He had died, hadn't he? Had his demon side kicked in because he had bit the bullet, so to speak? Was he not able to tell what was going on? Why was he attacking Haru? She knew he didn't exactly care for the wolf demon, but to attack him like this? Like he's out for his blood? Without thinking, Saya shot forward, saying the first thing that came to mind, "Tsuke!" The subjugation beads reacted instantaneously, pulling him to the ground mid-strike. Everyone followed her, as a means to stop her while she slowed down a bit to approach the downed hanyou. It wasn't long before he popped his head up from the ground, an angry look on his face but markings and transformation gone.

"What the hell, wench?! What was that for?" His features instantly became confused when she dropped to her knees in front of him. He was surprised to see her body slightly trembling.

"Thank God" was her only response, albeit shakily given, before she latched onto the fallen half demon in a tight hug.

* * *

 _I would just like to say that I am proud of myself for updating this story sooner than once a month. Woo! Go me! I am going to try to work on this story more than I have been. It's a slow season for my work, so hopefully I won't be nearly as exhausted as usual. I will try my best!_

 _As usual, if you have something to say about this story, please let me know! I would love to hear from people! The reviews help keep me motivated on keeping this story alive and running. I was mildly disappointed that I only got one review from the last chapter, and that person was my beta... I am exceedingly grateful for her and all she does for me, but it would be fantastic to hear from my other readers on what they think about what is going on and how this fanfiction is progressing. So please, let me know._

 _In other news, I have a couple of ideas for some other stories as well as this one. I am going to try working on all of them a little bit at a time. For those who have read my Tall, Blonde, and Annoying story, a rewrite is in the mix of ideas that I'm working on, as well as a rewrite for my Hiei story. I have a couple of ideas for another show that I found,_ Miraculous Ladybug _(don't judge me, it's an adorable show!) that I will also be thinking about working on and posting as time goes on. I have no intentions of writing multiple stories and posting them religiously at the same time. I, unfortunately, don't have enough free-time for that. If I do write and work on other stories, it will only be a little bit at a time. My main focus is going to be_ this _story. I have it posted and have followers that would like to see what happens next. I'm working on this fiction for you! That being said, please, please, please let me know what you thought of this chapter! Until next time!_

 _~Saph_


	10. Chapter 10: Repair and Progress

_**Response to review:**_

 _ **Timewriter:** Thanks for being my beta! You're the best!_

* * *

 **Chapter 10: Repair and Progress**

It had been several hours since Saya had hugged Inuyasha. Hours. The image wouldn't leave her alone. It was like a broken record: constantly repeating the scene over and over in her mind. It was mortifying. Her blush had yet to vanish. Haru glanced back to give her a wicked grin, wiggling his eyebrows. He obviously smelt her embarrassment and decided to torment her about it. Her attempts to stop him with a glare went unheeded—the blush splashed across her cheeks and the bridge of her nose completely defeated the purpose. He faced forward as the group began to slow. His shoulders shook with quiet laughter all the while. She made a mental note to kick his ass for it later.

She refocused her attention from her wayward thoughts when Inuyasha stopped as the group reached the peak of the hill. The hanyou had decided to return to Kaede's village before he would go to Totosai and have the old geezer—his words, not hers—fix his sword. The hanyou also announced that the group could use this time to do whatever it was they needed to before they set out again for their journey.

With the main source of his amusement—Inuyasha—gone, Haru decided to return to his tribe for a while. Once the two males had departed and everyone deposited their belongings in Kaede's hut, Hiyori requested for Saya to follow her into the woods for another training session. Saya turned to grab Yue. The young kit jumped away to sit beside Hiro, her tails swishing through the air contently and what appeared to be a foxy grin upon her face.

Confused by the sudden burst of energy the pup was displaying, Saya stood and placed her hands on her hips. The white fox mewled happily in response. Shaking her head, Saya took off after the light miko while the two animals remained behind. The duo continued deeper into the woods until they reached the Goshinboku. Hiyori sat at its roots without saying a word; Saya shrugged and joined her teacher. After a minute or two of silence passing between them, Saya glanced over to see Hiyori's eyes closed in meditation. She quickly followed her mentor's example.

The two were quiet for a while during their impromptu meditation exercise before Hiyori finally spoke. "I believe your spiritual training will begin sooner than expected. You need only to pass a test I give you before we progress with your training. Are you ready?"

Saya stared at Hiyori utterly confused. "Huh?" Her confusion rose exponentially when Hiyori lifted her hand—that was now covered in a glowing energy ball.

Inuyasha stared across the top of the volcanic mountain at the corpse in which Totosai resided. He quickly crossed the hot surface to the sword maker's abode. Looking around, Inuyasha found the old demon asleep. Waking him was simple: a knock on the head and then the two were conversing. Totosai, however, was more crying than talking.

"You fool!" His tears dripped onto the hot floor, causing small puffs of steam to rise. "My poor sword! What did you do to my poor Tessaiga?!"

"Just fix the damn thing!"

"Why should I? You obviously don't care about your father's heirloom. My poor Tessaiga…You are so unloved and uncared for by this brute." The old man began to cry once again.

The silver haired hanyou could no longer take the old man's blubbering any longer and hit him over the head.

"As I was saying," the old man said while rubbing his now throbbing, lumpy noggin, "I can fix the sword. It will take me three days and three nights, but I can do it." He paused to give a side glance to the hanyou. "Open your mouth for me, Inuyasha."

Confused, he obeyed. "Like this?"

"Perfect." In the blink of an eye, Totosai grabbed a pair of pliers and yanked out a fang from Inuyasha's open mouth. The dog demon yowled in pain. "Oh, stop your bellyaching! It'll grow back in half a day."

"Why'd ya do that, ya old geezer?!"

"I needed something to bond the sword pieces together. Hm, a little small, but I guess it'll have to do."

Inuyasha growled. "I'll be back in three nights."

"What for?"

"For my sword!"

"Oh right!"

Totosai watched as Inuyasha left his workshop quietly fuming about annoying, incompetent old men. Glancing back at the pieces of the sword and the fang in his hand, the old demon sighed. He had his work cut out for him. He just hoped that things would work out for the hanyou. His life was bound to get increasingly more difficult now.

"Is he gone?"

"Yeah, he just left."

Myoga jumped out of his hiding place and onto Totosai's shoulder to examine the broken sword. "This does not bode well."

"You're tellin' me! It's gonna be a pain to try and get these pieces to stick together with this small of a fang!"

"That is not what I am talking about! Inuyasha's demon side has now awakened full force! This could be disastrous! I will return later. I must talk to the group about this new development."

The sword maker nodded, and the flea demon took off, bouncing after the hanyou's quickly retreating form. Totosai sighed as he looked back at the work ahead of him. It was going to be a really long three days…

A loud screech reached the ears of those resting in Kaede's hut. Miroku and Sango instantly became on high alert.

"That sounded like Saya-chan."

Miroku nodded and stood, grabbing his staff. The two were about to exit the hut when Kaede's voice stopped them.

"It's all right. She is not in trouble. Hiyori is simply testing her to see if she can progress into the next part of her training."

The two glanced worriedly at each other when another shriek filled the air.

"Perhaps we should go and check, just to be sure?"

The old woman shook her head. "It will cause her to fail her test. She will be fine. Hiyori will not allow anything to hurt her."

When another loud shout sounded through the air, the two seriously doubted Kaede's faith in the other miko.

Saya let out another shriek as she played "dodge the fatal objects" again with Hiyori. The stakes seemed to be higher this time, however. The light miko seemed to be actually _trying_ to hit her. This meant that Saya had to continuously keep her guard up and use all her reflexes to make it out of this so-called _test_ with her life and limbs still intact. It was ridiculous!

Saya hid behind a large boulder to catch her breath for a moment. Sweat was dripping down her face, making it exceedingly difficult for her to see clearly. She was sweating in places she didn't think was possible! It was disgusting to say the least.

Saya slowly leaned over the edge of her hiding place to see where her attacker was. Her eyes widened, and she dove from the rock before it exploded into pieces. As she continuously kept up with her dodging, sliding, and rolling all around the place to avoid the attacks headed her way, Saya vaguely wondered when the end of this morbid version of a test would arrive.

Inuyasha arrived back at the hut to find Sango and Miroku standing, weapons in hand. Kaede stood a short distance away. He was about to ask them what the hell their problem was when he heard it: a very loud, very _Saya_ shriek coming from the forest. He turned skeptical eyes toward the others when they remained where they stood. (To their credit, they appeared tenser and glanced between each other and out the door quite often.) He made to leave the hut but was stopped when Kaede spoke up.

"You need not fear, Inuyasha. Saya is merely taking her test so she can progress onto the next step of her training. Hiyori will not harm her."

A loud explosion accompanied Saya's shout this time around.

"Bullshit, she won't!" He attempted to leave but was stopped by a barrier blocking the door. He looked back at the miko incredulously.

"Forgive me, Inuyasha, but you would not listen any other way. Please, just sit and wait with everyone else. We are all expectant of the results of this test."

He grumbled but nodded. Kaede released her hold on the hanyou and retreated to her mat. The hanyou sat next to Miroku while rubbing his wrist and simply hoped that nothing happened. Kagome would kill him if something did…

Saya gasped for breath behind the nearest tree. This woman was insane! She tells Saya that she has to undergo a test, but instead of telling her what she needs to do to pass said test, she just begins throwing things at her. Saya had to flee for her life! She was seriously beginning to get tired of this whole "dodge the fatal object" thing that was going on. Saya figured that if she didn't do something soon, she would become far too tired to even keep dodging. Making up her mind quickly, Saya glanced around to find something she could use as a weapon. Why didn't she think to grab her bow and arrows?! That's right, because she thought this would be just a regular training exercise. Silly her… She made a mental note to bring them with her from then on.

Saya found a large branch that she could use as a club or staff if needed. It would have to do. She made a beeline straight for the wooden weapon, grabbed it in passing, and ducked behind another large boulder. Now, that the first problem had been solved, next came the more difficult one: Figuring out how to get over to Hiyori without being blown to kingdom come, and manage to at least pin her down. (Hopefully, that would put an end to this insane training session…)

A glance around her hiding place proved what she figured was true: Hiyori was headed directly for her once again; her hands glowing in preparation for releasing another large energy blast at her. Deciding to rely only on her instincts and hoping they wouldn't fail her, Saya climbed up the rock and took a flying leap onto her teacher. Hiyori looked up, surprised, before responding with a ball of energy before her as a buffer between the two. Saya landed on top of Hiyori, the winding getting knocked out of her, but she still scrambled to regain her footing before the other miko. She pointed the branch at her teacher's throat.

The two were silent for a few moments, save from them trying to regulate their breathing, before Hiyori began to quietly chuckle. "You win. Congratulations, Saya. You have passed this test. You will begin training your spiritual powers tonight." After a short pause, Hiyori added with a smile, "It seems that you have great potential. You seem to be able to channel your power through whatever means necessary. Take a closer look at that branch in your hand."

Saya kept a close eye on her teacher but spared a glance in the branch's direction before blinking in surprise. The impromptu weapon was surrounded by a pale light that was fading between a purple-pink and periwinkle. She was so surprised about it that she dropped her guard enough to allow Hiyori to stand. In the next second, Saya grunted as her back collided with the ground.

"Just because the battle was deemed over, does not mean you should lower your guard," the light miko spoke with amusement as she began the return trip to the village. Saya remained on the ground for a few moments longer before she slowly stood and followed Hiyori.

When the two mikos returned to the hut, they were instantly bombarded by everyone rushing to check to see if Saya was all right. She assured them that aside from the bumps, bruises, and sore muscles, she was fine. Miroku and Sango told her that they were all worried about her; they had heard her screams and shouts from the hut. Saya's face colored slightly upon hearing the news.

For a while after, everyone seemed less willing to allow Saya to be alone with Hiyori—even Inuyasha was less willing. She didn't blame them, though she was quite shocked about Inuyasha. Hiyori requested an audience with Saya when the sun was beginning its trek down the lower half of the sky. Miroku was the first to oppose. When Hiyori stated that under no circumstance could there be a male present, Sango volunteered to venture out with the mikos. Hiyori shrugged before stopping Saya from retrieving her bow and arrows.

"There will no need for those in what we are doing."

"That's what I thought last time," Saya muttered.

Hiyori smiled. "There will be no physical activity with this training session. There really is no reason to bring them." With a grumble, Saya consented, and the group entered the woods.

"So, what is the purpose of coming into these woods so late? And why can no males be present?"

"Simple. I am going to have Saya do some meditating, and the place will require her to change into something fitting for a miko's meditation—unless she does not mind walking around in sopping wet clothes through the woods when the weather is beginning to chill the night air."

Saya's face fell. "I think I'll have to pass on that…"

"I had a feeling you would say that," Hiyori replied with amusement.

The trio arrived at their destination not long after. It was a beautiful setting. A waterfall fell gently into a small pooling before the water flowed on into a small stream. The pooling appeared to be deep. Directly beneath the waterfall was a large, flat rock. Saya assumed that would be where she would be meditating. That could prove to be mildly troublesome. Saya's attention was redirected from the setting toward her teacher.

"This is where you will come to train every night until we depart for our travels once again. You will meditate under the falls. The water has a purifying quality to it, and it will assist you in your attempt to draw out and harness your spiritual powers."

"Question," Saya said raising her hand. "Don't I already have that ability? You know, with the whole sacred arrows bit and all?"

"You can only tap into a small fraction of your powers, and when you do, you are almost completely unaware of doing so. With the completion of this training, you will be able to realize you are using your powers, become familiar with them, and expand your potential beyond your wildest dreams."

"Okay. So, how does one go about 'drawing out and harnessing' their spiritual powers?"

"Shed your clothes, change into these robes, and I will join you in your first attempt. Sango, if you could kindly stand guard?"

"Gladly." The demon slayer turned on her heel and walked several paces away from the waterfall before standing at attention; Kirara resided upon her shoulder to assist in the endeavor.

Saya slowly peeled away her jeans and tee shirt from her body after toeing off her tennis shoes and socks. Accepting the offered articles of clothing, Saya changed into the thin, white miko robes and felt exceedingly uncomfortable. Hiyori stood by her side not long after.

"Shall we?"

Releasing a shaky breath, Saya nodded and took a step into the water. She had to bite back her yelp; the water was _freezing_! There was no better way to become one with your body when everything began to grow numb, she thought with a bite of cynicism in her mind. The two slowly made their way to the rock beneath the pouring water. Once finally situated so they would not fall off, Hiyori minutely turned her head in Saya's direction.

"In order to draw out and harness your powers, you must first know how they feel. For every miko, it is different. Mine, for example, feels warm and bright—like it's made of sunshine—and yet it flows through me like a river. Yours will likely not feel the same way to you. Your task today is to try and discover what your powers feel like to you. Understood?"

Saya nodded before closing her eyes and concentrating. As she focused her thoughts and attention inward, she attempted to shut off all connections to the outside world full of distractions. It only mildly worked. She was still aware of the waterfall beating down upon her body, as well as Hiyori's presence next to her. In her mind's eye, everything was black—like she was in a void of some kind. She couldn't see anything. Couldn't feel anything. It was just pure nothingness. The longer she closed her eyes, the further into the blackness she fell.

The light miko peeked at Saya from the corner of her eye. Something was wrong. Opening both eyes and turning her full attention on her student, she realized with alarm that Saya was shaking, a frown upon her lips and brows creased in emotion. This was not good. Reaching her hand out, Hiyori attempted to touch her quaking student, only to realize in shock that she was unable. There was a barrier of sorts around her body, trapping her within her own mind. This was not good at all.

Saya felt herself falling. While she knew she couldn't _actually_ be falling—her body was on a rock for crying out loud!—she still felt the sensation all the same. She still couldn't see or sense anything. The only thing available to her senses was the sensation of the freefall. She was not comfortable with that fact. She attempted to open her eyes, to pull herself out, but she found herself unable to do so. _The hell?_ She found herself beginning to lose hope of stopping herself from experiencing whatever was happening until she felt something warm in her chest suddenly erupt. Slowly, a calming, pale blue light made itself known to her mind's eye. Her consciousness reached out to it, attempting to cling onto it for dear life.

She slowly became aware of the sensation of grass moving beneath her back and arms beneath her own. Saya slowly opened her eyes with a groan. The sight that awaited her was Sango's and Hiyori's faces washing over with relief as they stared into her now opened eyes.

"Are you okay?"

Saya nodded her head. "I think so." Taking her time, Saya lifted herself into a seated position. "What happened?"

"We were hoping you could tell us. You closed your eyes to begin your training, but after a while you began to tremble. We tried to wake you, or at least open your eyes, but you weren't responding. Then something on your chest began to glow. Hiyori brought you out of the water and onto dry land. By the time you reached this spot, the glowing stopped, and then you opened your eyes. So, what happened?"

Saya shook her head. "I really don't know. I tried to follow what Hiyori told me to do, but all I could see and feel was a black void. I had tried to open my eyes myself but couldn't. It wasn't until I was losing hope of ever coming out of whatever it was that was happening, that I felt something warm in my chest and then I saw a light. I just reached for it, and the next thing I knew, you both were leaning over me."

Hiyori was silent for a moment as her brows furrowed in thought before her eyes rested on something on Saya's chest. "You are still wearing the fragments?"

It was now Saya's turn to furrow her brows in confusion. "Of course. Momma told me to never take them off."

"Do you possess anything else on your person?"

"Just a necklace a friend of mine gave me at graduation."

Hiyori was silent for a moment before she stood. "We are done training for the day. We will resume tomorrow evening. Next time, remove the shards from your person; you will continue to wear those robes for your training until stated otherwise."

"What about the necklace from my friend? Should I remove that too, or am I okay to continue to wear it?" she asked with a roll of her eyes.

"May I see it?"

Carefully removing it from beneath the white cloth, Saya held the pendant up for the light miko to inspect. She stepped back after a moment of careful examination.

"You will most certainly keep that pendant on. It is what brought you out of whatever was happening a while ago."

"It did?"

"Yes. It is a charm for protection. Whoever gave that to you did their research. It is very well crafted and possesses great amounts of spiritual power and should be able to protect you from most non-physical attacks. Consider yourself lucky." She finished with a smile before turning around and walking away. "Change back into your clothes and return to the village. I will be back before you are to begin your training tomorrow. There is something I must attend to."

Saya was silent for a moment before looking at Sango. "Was it me, or did something seem a little…off…about what she said?"

Sango shook her head. "You are not the only one. I noticed it too. There seemed to be some hidden emotion or an ulterior motive behind what she was saying."

"What should we do?"

"Nothing for now. If something happens, I'll be here with you."

Saya smiled. "Thank you, Sango-chan."

The demon slayer returned the smile. "You are welcome, Saya-chan."

* * *

 _Sorry for the incredibly long wait, everyone! I've had a lot going on in my life for the past few months and just got some time to finish this chapter. As always, please let me know what you think._


	11. Chapter 11: Deepening Bonds

**Responses to reviews:**

 _ **Timewriter:** I think you may be the only one following this story now . You're the only review I've gotten in the past two chapters. :(_

* * *

 **Chapter 11: Deepening Bonds**

The following morning, Saya awoke to an empty hut. Glancing around, she grabbed her bag before changing as fast as physically possible—who knew if or when someone might return? Once readied for the day, Saya ventured outside. People were milling about the village, but she found no trace of any of her traveling companions. Even Shippo and the animals were gone! She wandered her way through the village until a new sensation fell over her senses. It felt different than a Shikon fragment; instead of all her senses being on alert, this sensation brought about a sense of calmness, compassion, a deep connection…it seemed to call to her… So consumed in her attempt to understand and make sense of this new sensation, she stopped walking unknowingly.

The villagers that were behind her were forced to abruptly change their direction in attempt to avoid a collision. Some were not fortunate enough to stop in time. Saya paid no attention to them. Her brows furrowed in concentration as she strained to pinpoint the source of the new feeling. She was just beginning to get the feeling that it was close to her when a familiar voice snapped her back to reality.

"Yue, wait up!"

Saya turned toward the voice and was rewarded with an armful of kitsune. Yue crawled onto her shoulders before draping herself across them, mewling happily. The young pup even nudged Saya's face affectionately. This was quite the drastic change from even a few days prior. All thoughts of the strange sensation disappeared as she turned her attention from the pup on her shoulders to Shippo when he finally caught up, bent over in attempt to catch his breath.

"Geez, when'd she get so fast?" Shippo muttered to himself. When he looked up after recovering, he blinked in surprise. "That's why you ran off." His attention turned from the white pup to her resting place. "Morning!" He greeted with a grin.

Saya smiled warmly in return. "Good morning. You wouldn't happen to know where everyone is, would you?"

The young demon nodded. "Yeah, Yue and I was just there until she ran off."

She nodded slowly. "Do you think you could lead the way back?" She paused before adding, "You don't have to walk; hop up." She chuckled quietly at his relieved expression. For the second time that morning, Saya found herself with an armful of kitsune. While she walked in the direction Shippo pointed, the child began to regale Saya on what had transpired earlier that morning.

Apparently, Yue had gotten used to the early training sessions because she had woken up—only to discover she was the only one awake. Shippo had awoken not long after when he had felt something gently pawing at him. The two went outside to play, as to not disturb the others while they continued to sleep. Inuyasha made his appearance a short while after; he had jumped down from the tree the two were playing near, scaring Shippo in the process. Sango and Miroku followed not long after. Kaede had managed to shanghai Inuyasha into helping her carry some heavier objects around the village, while the other two found small tasks to accomplish. Shippo and Yue had followed Inuyasha and Kaede around until Yue had taken off. Once he finished his tale, Saya asked Shippo what he meant by that.

"We were playing around, and then she just stops! She looked toward the village, and then she just…took off," he said with a shrug. "She didn't stop until she jumped into your arms. It was difficult to keep up with her, ya know. She kept running around people and things. I could barely keep up!"

Saya chuckled at how exasperated the child was. "I'm certainly glad you did, otherwise I would never have known how eventful your day was!"

Shippo seemed to puff up a bit at the exclamation. "It _was_ crazy!" He grinned as he jumped down, causing Saya to stop as well, to face her with a boastful look on his face. "I bet I could handle anything now! Even Inuyasha!"

Saya bit back a smile when the hanyou in question appeared before them. The child took no notice, as his back was toward Inuyasha as he talked to Saya, but kept going on about how he could kick Inuyasha's butt. The hanyou seemed to have enough of Shippo's boastful talk and made his presence known. "Ya wanna test that theory, runt?"

Saya could no longer hold back her laughter when Shippo instantly tensed, turning to find Inuyasha squatting down behind him. The child then beat feet over to Saya and jumped into her arms again. He attempted to keep face, but his voice began to waiver as he spoke, "You don't scare me."

Inuyasha smirked and opened his mouth to say something, but Kaede stopped him before he could. "Inuyasha, do you not have some place to go? One of the villagers is in need of the load in your possession. Kindly take it to them." The hanyou grimaced before hefting the large load of straw over his shoulder and stalked away. Shippo stuck his tongue out at Inuyasha's retreating back. The elderly miko turned to the two fox demons resting upon Saya. "Young Shippo, why don't you and Yue go play? Come to us when it is time for supper." The two happily agreed and jumped down before running off in the opposite direction of Inuyasha. Kaede made her way to Saya before smiling. "Good to see you are awake now. Might I trouble you to help this old woman?"

Saya stared at the elderly woman with a start. "I'm sorry. Did I sleep long?"

Kaede smiled kindly. "No child; the others simply rose much earlier."

She breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good. I worried I slept super late." The two shared a smile. "What is it you need help with, Kaede-sama?"

"Nothing too strenuous. These old bones do not bend as they used to. It is becoming difficult to collect the herbs I require these days."

"Not a problem! Would you like for me to go on my own so you can rest?"

"Thank you, child, but I believe it easier for both if I accompanied you."

Saya nodded, and the two set off for the field nearby. While there, the elderly miko taught her what herbs were good and which were poisonous, which herbs would help what ailment, and which herbs would mix together to create remedies for specific problems. Thus far, Saya had learned the remedies for mild poisoning, sprained appendages, and stab wounds. The elderly miko was exceedingly knowledgeable and shared her wisdom easily with the young miko in training.

"Are you ready to return?" Kaede's voice disrupted Saya from her wandering thoughts. Quickly gathering the picked herbs, she stood and moved to join the other female. Compiling their bushels into the basket Kaede brought, Saya grabbed it before assisting the elderly miko back to the village.

Saya smiled as the sinking sun warmed her face as they made their trek. Upon their arrival, Kaede taught her how to create several of the medicinal remedies she had been told about previously.

"Mix these two herbs together with a small amount of water, apply to the poisoned wound, wrap in bandages, and your patient should recover from mild poisoning within the next day."

Saya's eyes widened in wonder. There was so much to learn. Saya agreed to help the older woman the following morning in caring for the villagers that required medical attention. She figured it would be a wise decision to invest time into learning the art of herbal remedies on the off chance that she ran out of supplies in the medical kit from her time. She had no intentions of doing so, but it was always better to be safe than sorry.

"What about a remedy for more severe poisoning?"

Kaede chuckled at her enthusiasm. "We can continue the lessons tomorrow. Right now, we have to dry these herbs and start working on supper." Saya agreed with a sigh and set to work drying out the herbs as Kaede instructed while she worked on fixing dinner for those who remained of their traveling companions. As Saya finished with her task, Shippo ran up to her, jumping into her arms with a cry, causing her to drop the few remaining herbs to the ground.

"Saya! Inuyasha's gonna get me!"

At her name, Saya looked to see the hanyou in question approaching with an extremely irritated expression upon his face. Saya raised an eyebrow when he stopped before her and glared at the small kit cowering in her arms. Yue followed a short distance behind; however, instead of jumping onto the miko's shoulders, the young pup remained on the ground, choosing to lie near her. "What happened?"

"The annoying, little brat made a spinning top appear on my head."

At that moment, Saya felt like she was dealing with two children instead of just the one. For a moment, Saya quietly wondered how her mother could handle it, but then remembered that her and Daichi were nowhere _near_ as bad as these two behaved. Heaving a sigh of exasperation, Saya asked, "What did you do to him first?"

"I didn't do nothing to that brat!"

"Liar! You took the apple I was going to eat!"

Inuyasha opened his mouth to retaliate, but Saya beat him to the punch. "Boys, enough. I think I understand what happened well enough. Inuyasha, you shouldn't have stolen his apple if he had it first. Shippo, you shouldn't have retaliated with your fox magic like that. You could seriously hurt someone doing something like that."

"There's no way anything could get damaged in _that_ head…"

Saya forced herself to keep from laughing or showing her amusement on her face—a feat that was growing exceedingly difficult with the look that was currently plastered all over Inuyasha's face: a face of utter indignation that was gradually transforming into rage.

"What was that, runt?"

Before Shippo could dig himself any deeper, Saya decided to intervene. "Shippo, why don't you go and see if Kaede-sama needs any help?" She even tossed the child in the direction of the hut to aid in distancing the two. The girl from the future sighed before facing the annoyed hanyou. And he was extremely annoyed.

"Why did you do that?! I was finally gonna teach that brat a lesson!"

"Do you really think he would have listened? Because I certainly don't. I think he just likes to push your buttons—and he does an excellent job, by the looks of it." She sighed again and massaged her temples. Inuyasha grunted at Saya's words.

Inuyasha scowled as the annoying wench turned away from him and walked back into the hut with the others. It irritated him to no end to realize that she was right; the annoying runt would not have listened to him had he just beat him over the head. Talking to him didn't work either, though. There seemed to be nothing that would work for getting that brat under control. As the hanyou began to walk away, he heard the soft voice of Saya speaking to Shippo. He paused to listen to the conversation.

"Shippo, I need to talk to you."

"What is it, Saya-chan?"

"About what you did to Inuyasha..."

"But he started it!" It was evident from his voice that Shippo was pouting.

"That may be true, but you shouldn't have responded the way you did."

"Why not?! He always attacks me!"

Inuyasha heard Saya sigh again, and figured she was rubbing her temples as she had just done with him. There was a pause in conversation before Saya quietly said, "Shippo, if you can behave for a while and not start anything, I will give you a sucker. For every day without a fight, you get a sucker. Deal?"

"Alright! Suckers!"

"But only if you're good and don't cause any trouble with Inuyasha." There was another pause. "I mean it, Shippo. No trouble. I don't care if he starts it, no fights for the rest of the day."

Inuyasha quietly huffed before walking away. If she was going to bribe the kid into not fighting, there was no point in sticking around to hear anything else. He made his way to the forest and waited out the rest of the time until dinner in a tree.

Saya sighed a little in relief as she got Shippo to agree to not argue with Inuyasha. She knew it wouldn't last, but at least it would save her from a headache for a little while. The rest of the group returned to the shack once dinner had finished, and there were no other disturbances—much to Saya's delight. As the group finished their meal, Hiyori entered the hut and instantly turned her attention onto Saya.

"Once you finish your meal, we may begin your second attempt in accessing your powers." She turned to exit the building, but paused to look back at her charge. "I shall wait for you outside. Please, do not dawdle."

Saya scowled at Hiyori's retreating form. Sango leaned over and whispered, "Would you like me to join you this time as well? Just in case something happens again?"

Saya smiled appreciatively at the demon slayer. "Yes, please." The two shared a smile before quickly finishing their meals. Saya gathered her miko garbs, and the two females exited the hut to join Hiyori outside. The light miko glanced at Sango.

"Good to see you joining us again, Sango-san. Come, we have much to accomplish but not much time in which to achieve it." Hiyori then led them back to the waterfall and instructed Saya to change into her miko garbs. Once accomplished, Hiyori requested the Shikon fragments from around her neck as well.

Saya gripped onto the small jar around her neck. "I was told to never remove them."

"Under normal circumstances, I would agree. However, I sensed a spike of a dark presence within those shards while you were training last. I believe that to be the reason you had the experience you did. I will keep them within a purification barrier—it should function just as well at keeping them pure without putting yourself in undo risk of repeating last night's occurrence."

Saya hesitated momentarily before releasing a small sigh and handing the shards over to the outstretched hand of the light miko. Saya watched in surprise as Hiyori held the jar before her by the string and her other hand was engulfed by her white-gold, shimmering power. The light miko's eyes narrowed in focus on the container before her. Her ring finger and pinky curled down, leaving the other fingers outstretched, and in an instant, the glow transferred from her hand onto the container of the shards.

"Wow…" Saya and Sango breathed out in awe at the same time.

Hiyori gave a satisfied smile before turning back to Saya. "There, now, shall we begin?"

Saya sighed before taking her place within the waterfall. Steeling herself with a shaky breath, she closed her eyes and began to focus internally. At first, she only saw black again. The fact frightened her, but she felt the presence of the pendant around neck slowly emanate a slow pulse that warmed her and soothed her fears. Taking another breath, she delved deeper into her subconscious.

Sango waited anxiously next to Hiyori while they watched over Saya. When the only change to occur within a decent span of time was Saya furrowing her brows, Sango leaned over and asked in a whisper, "Shouldn't something have happened by now?"

Hiyori shook her head. "The time is different for each miko. I was taught at a young age what to do with my powers, so the time for me was relatively short. Saya, however, has not had such training—not in the same respects that I have. It could take her some time before she even finds her powers—let alone gain the ability of releasing them."

Sango sighed. "At least there shouldn't be any accidents from now on. Last night was frightening."

Hiyori nodded while a frown appeared on her face. "Indeed, it was. I will never allow such a situation to arise again to put Saya in that predicament. You have my word."

Sango nodded slowly. "I'm grateful."

A moment of silence passed between the females as they refocused their attention back to the young woman beneath the waterfall. Sango was surprised when Hiyori broke the silence with a shaky whisper.

"Last night shook me more than you both realize. I never had any intentions of _ever_ placing Saya in any environments during her training that would cause her harm. Despite what you all may think, I care for her deeply. She is more like a sister to me than you all realize. I push her because I know she can handle it. I 'torment' her because I know it will make her stronger, faster, and more likely to be able to defend and protect herself. I may not show it very often, but I do care." Hiyori was silent for a moment, and Sango glanced over to see her blinking away a tear. The light miko glanced at the demon slayer. "She will figure all of this out in her own time. If you tell her before that time, I will deny all of this to my grave." The two were silent for a moment before they broke out into quiet laughter.

Sango had several questions; the one that occurred most, was how the light miko could possibly care for Saya so deeply in the short span of time. However, Sango could understand; she and Saya had only a short while longer together before Hiyori appeared, and the demon slayer cared for the girl from the future quite a bit already. Sango was lost in her thoughts until a sudden gasp from Saya instantly redirected her focus.

Saya had continued to dig through her subconscious until she was suddenly faced with a large, light periwinkle sphere. She slowly approached the sphere and wearily stretched out a hand to place upon the surface. She felt like it was vibrating with energy—almost as if a great storm resided within the confined barrier. Then the sensation switched to a calm and loving feeling. It was a rather odd sensation and drastic change—it startled a gasp out of her. Saya was about to attempt to reach her hand inside the barrier, but was pulled back to reality when she felt someone shaking her shoulders.

Snapping her eyes open with another gasp, Saya quickly surveyed her surroundings—only to realize that Sango had been the one who had gently shook her shoulder. Taking a calming breath, she asked, "What's up?"

"We heard you gasp and were worried something happened again. You are alright, aren't you?"

Saya smiled in thanks. "Yeah, I'm fine. I was just surprised is all." She redirected her attention to Hiyori, who stood a short distance behind Sango. "I think I found my power."

"What did it feel like?" Hiyori asked the same time Sango asked, "Are you sure?"

Saya described how the sphere vibrated with pent up energy. Hiyori was silent for a minute before she muttered something beneath her breath with a relieved sigh. Saya caught a couple of words: caught, better, time, and something that sounded eerily like her mother's name. Before she could think much on the subject, Hiyori announced the training session was completed for the night. They would resume training again in three nights so they could all get enough rest for resuming their journey. The trio of females returned to the village to retire for the night.

* * *

 _Okay! Here was the next chapter in the story. I'm sorry it took so long. I would love to give this profound reason as to why it took over four months for me to update, but sadly, I don't have one. I've been trying to work on this story, but I've gotten a little bored with it. I haven't been getting as much feedback as I used to, and my life is getting a little crazy with work and everything else going on. I have gotten chapter twelve completed, but I need to finish writing chapter 13 before I will be willing to post again. I also have started working on some other stories as well as this one, but I find the inspiration for this story lacking as time keeps going. I want to finish this story. I really like it, and I like where it's going and where it could go. I just need a little more support from you guys. I'm sorry that it takes so bloody long between updates. I really don't have much of an excuse other than the fact that I have a life outside of writing this story. (Believe me, I would much rather be a stay at homebody and just work on my stories and art all the time, but sadly, I cannot. Bills to pay and all that. Yay adult life! XP_

 _Anyway, I would really appreciate some feedback with this story. It will help motivate me to get the next chapter written, edited, and posted._

 _Until next time,_

 _Saph_


	12. Chapter 12: Awakening Part 1

_Hey guys! **Please, please, please read the note at the end of this chapter. It's important!** Thanks. Enjoy the new chapter!_

* * *

 **Chapter 12: Awakening Part 1**

The following morning, Saya was surprised to find Yue still curled up next to her even though the rest of the hut was abandoned. She wasn't complaining. She quickly readied herself, scooped the waking kitsune, and walked out into the bright, cool morning. She could tell as soon as she stepped outside that autumn was quickly approaching. No longer saturated in the unpleasant humid quality, the air was now crisp and clear. She felt a shiver run through her body. If the weather kept its course, she'd need to return to her time to get warmer clothes. Sighing, Saya glanced around to discover if there was anyone of their group nearby. No such luck. With a shrug, Saya began to aimlessly wander around the village.

The place was thriving with life: some women were meandering around, attempting to purchase the items they required or desired; other women carried sticks and assorted herbs; men hefted large bundle or were busy in the fields. Children dashed between all that was happening, playing games only they understood. A small group of children stood gathered a short distance away, whispering and pointing in Saya's direction. A few of the bolder children ran up to see if they could pet Yue. The small fox seemed to be a huge hit with the kids. Saya smiled a little as Yue drank in their attention. The young kit was beginning to develop a personality as the days passed. It was endearing to watch—even if the kitsune was becoming mischievous and cheeky. At least she was cute. Saya shook her head.

Speaking of at least being cute, Saya hadn't seen hide nor hair of Inuyasha since dinner the previous evening. He hadn't been in the hut when she and the other females had returned from her training session. At the time, Saya hadn't thought anything of it, but now, she was getting mildly worried. If she didn't see him by lunch, she was going to go and look for the hanyou. She nodded her head, mentally affirming the idea in her mind, and was pulled back into reality as Yue bounded up her body to rest upon her shoulder.

Turning to the pup she asked with a smile, "Oh, you finally want your favorite spot back, huh?" Yue simply mewled happily in response. Saya could feel her tails brushing against the back of her head as they swayed with her happiness. It was adorable.

Saya allowed her feet to carry her wherever they saw fit. She ended up wandering into the forest near the training spot Hiyori took her to. She was surprised to find a training area set up for archery. She approached the targets curiously. They felt rather new, and not from this era. They almost felt like the targets her high school used. It was exceedingly odd. She shrugged; oh well. When in Rome and all that…

"What do you think, Yue? Quick archery training? Don't wanna get sloppy. Kami-sama knows Inuyasha would have a field day about that…" Yue made a noise that sounded like agreement to Saya. Well, that settled it. She raced back to Kaede's hut to retrieve her bow and arrows, passing Sango in the process.

"What has you so fired up?"

"Found an archery set up. Gonna train. Care to join?"

The demon slayer considered it for a moment before shaking her head. "I think I shall pass this time. I'm going to use this day to rest before we resume our travels in the morning."

"Okay, suit yourself. See ya later!"

Saya retrieved the items before quickly returning to the training site. She was about to sling the quiver on her back, but Yue let out a bark of protest. It seemed the pup wished to stay. Shrugging, Saya placed the quiver on the ground, pulled out some arrows, and stuck them in the ground beside her. She notched one, took aim, and fired. It wasn't long before she began throwing sacred arrows into the mix. After a few rounds, Saya got into a routine: Shoot a few regular arrows, shoot a sacred arrow, shoot five regulars, shoot two sacred. After depleting her stash, she would retrieve them. After the second round, however, Yue hopped off her head (she moved up there after realizing that she was hindering Saya's shooting ability) and began helping Saya retrieve her arrows. Saya smiled as she turned around to see Yue sitting proudly next to a small pile of arrows. She was surprised the fox had been able to get them without breaking any. Saya stooped down, scratching the pup's head and retrieving the arrows.

"You get an extra treat tonight for your help." Saya chuckled when the pup began wagging her tails excitedly. The miko resumed her training. It wasn't until her stomach began to growl that she realized how late it had become. A glance at the sun—which was now beginning its decent for the day—proved that she had trained past lunch. Oops. She needed the training, though, and it was nice to do things her own way instead of being told what to do and how to do it. Quickly gathering all the arrows and Yue, Saya began her trek back to the village. She made it back before Kaede gave the leftovers to anyone.

"You are lucky you returned when you did. We prepared lunch a little late today."

"Thank you, Kaede-sama."

Saya was going to miss the woman's cooking when they set back out for their travels the following morning. It sure as hell beat instant ramen any day!

A thought occurred to her as she accepted a bowl of food. "Oh! I completely forgot! I'm so sorry; I didn't help you this morning with the ill. I even promised to do so."

The older woman waved her concerns away. "There was not much to help. Besides, I could have woken you up if I required your assistance. You were fine to sleep."

Saya reluctantly accepted the elderly miko's response before eating her food. Once she finished, she asked Kaede if everyone had not shown up for lunch. The elderly woman responded that Inuyasha and Hiyori had been missing. She hummed in thought, thanking the older woman, and taking her leave—Yue once again on her shoulders. Saya wandered mindlessly back toward the forest. She supposed she would stick with the plan she decided upon earlier and look for the missing hanyou. She walked around, hoping to randomly bump into the silver-haired male, but to no avail. That is, until she approached the well and heard a murmur of voices. She redirected herself toward the voices, slowing her steps and cautiously approaching the area. As she got closer, she could discern the voices and what they were saying. One was male. _Inuyasha!_ The other was a female she had never heard before. She got as close as she dared before she stopped to listen and watch.

"—appeared again. I had begun to wonder if Naraku had actually managed to kill you."

"Keh, like that bastard could do anything."

The woman hummed in response. Saya took the moment to take in her appearance: Straight, black hair that fell past her waist, held back with a white ribbon. A slim body that was clad in the same miko garments Kaede wore. The small amount of skin shown was pale—almost deathly so. Her eyes, however, was the thing that struck Saya the most; they were the exact same color as her mother's. Saya quickly covered her mouth as a quiet gasp escaped her lips. The last thing she wanted was to be found spying on _Inuyasha,_ of all people. When she saw the woman's head begin to turn, Saya quickly ducked behind a tree to stay out of view.

The woman turned her head and swept her eyes past where Saya hid herself. She had to repress a shudder. The woman may have the same color of eyes as her mother, but their eyes were _not_ the same. Her mother's eyes were kind, warm, and soft. This woman had cold, hard eyes that seemed to radiate waves of distrust and barely concealed malice.

When it appeared the woman couldn't find anything amiss, she returned her attention to the hanyou. "I spoke with my sister this morning. She shared with me that your group just recently returned after disappearing for thirty years. She also mentioned that my reincarnation was no longer with your group. Instead, some child is with you? Have you really fallen that far, Inuyasha, that you would stoop so low as to receive help from a child?"

Saya tensed and had to keep herself from blowing her cover. This woman was a bitch! Then what the woman said registered. _Reincarnation_. So, _this_ was Kikyo. Saya was suddenly glad that the bitch had died so her mother could be born. This woman wasn't nearly as great as everyone made her out to be. Yue nudged her head against Saya's chin, drawing her attention away from her thoughts and back to the conversation happening just beyond the cover of the thickets.

"Saya ain't a child. She's the same age you are!"

"Were, you mean. I no longer have an age, Inuyasha." Her tone was maliciously humored.

Saya saw Inuyasha shift uncomfortably. "Yeah, were…"

"Who is this girl? Kaede did not share her origins when she mentioned her."

"Kagome's daughter."

"My reincarnation had a child?"

"In her time. She can't pass through the well."

"Pity."

Inuyasha was about to speak, but Saya had enough and left—not particularly caring if she was heard due to her anger. She stomped her way back to Kaede's hut, snatched up her belongings, and stormed out. Sango and Miroku glanced at one another before Sango stood and followed the irritated female.

"Saya-chan! Wait up!"

Heaving a sigh in a fruitless attempt at calming down, Saya paused and turned toward Sango. "What's up?"

"Is everything alright? You seem quite…upset."

The agitated female huffed. "I just had the misfortune of overhearing Inuyasha talk to Kikyo. I just want to go home for the night. I'll be back in the morning." Some of the tension left her shoulders once she had vocalized her annoyance. "I also need to get some warmer clothing. Hiyori was right the other night; it's getting colder out. I only have summer clothes with me right now. I need to get a sweatshirt or something."

Sango nodded, though it was obvious to Saya that the demon slayer only understood half of what she had said. "That is unfortunate, indeed. Kagome would always leave after Kikyo appeared. I wish you a good night, then. I will see you when you return in the morning."

Saya smiled as the rest of the tension left her body. "Thanks, Sango-chan." She then reached over and gave the unprepared female a hug. She started departing toward the well but stopped and glanced back at Sango. "Oh, and Sango?" The other female turned around. "If anyone, especially Inuyasha, asks where I am, just say I had to go home for something. Leave out the thing about Kikyo for me?"

Sango smiled. "Of course. Good night, Saya-chan."

"Good night, Sango-chan." Saya waited until Sango had resumed her trip back to Kaede's before she returned to her own journey to the well. With one last glance around to make sure the coast was clear, Saya hopped into the well.

When she reappeared on the other side, Saya hopped out and made her way into the house.

"I'm back!"

She heard a noise and turned to the side to see her family coming in to welcome her. Daichi instantly ran up to her and hugged her legs. When she straightened from hugging her little brother, her mother instantly grabbed her in a hug. A sudden shifting around her shoulders alerted Saya to a presence she had become used to. Her mother seemed to become aware of it as well as she pulled back with a start to stare at her shoulders where Yue rested.

"Oh! Who's this cutie?"

"Momma, meet Yue. I kinda inherited her from her mother when I saved them from some wolves."

Kagome's face lit up with a giant smile. "She's such a cute little thing!"

Saya laughed. "Yeah, and I think she knows it too."

"Can I hold her?"

Saya shrugged. "If she'll let you."

Kagome carefully reached forward and pulled Yue from around her shoulders. Once that task was completed, Kagome turned her and held her like a baby. Yue didn't seem to mind; she mewled happily, her tails swishing from side to side in a happy and lazy manner. Saya laughed as her mother began to coo at the fox pup.

As Kagome continued to fawn over the young kitsune, her father stepped forward to give her a hug as well. Stepping back, he asked how long she would be staying with them this time.

"Ah," Saya said while scratching the back of her neck in a sheepish manner. "I'm only here for the night. I needed to restock and get some warmer clothes. It's starting to get cooler out." Her parents nodded in understanding. After a moment's pause, she added quietly, "That, and I ran into Kikyo for the first time."

Kagome was instantly in action mode: she told both males that she and Saya were going to have a talk up in her room and, under no circumstances, were they to be bothered. She then herded Saya out of the kitchen and up into her room—all the while, still holding Yue like a baby. Once in the confines of the bedroom, Kagome closed the door, set Yue down on the mattress next to Saya, and pulled her computer chair over to sit across from her.

"So, what happened?"

Saya proceeded to tell her mother all about what she had heard in the conversation between Inuyasha and Kikyo. By the time she finished, she was huffing a little. Yue crawled onto her lap and licked her hand. Saya absently scratched the kitsune while she worked on calming herself down.

The first thing out of her mother's mouth was not what she had expected: "So, she still hasn't changed after all these years…"

Saya figured her mother was mainly muttering to herself, but she treated the statement as a question and answered anyway. "I guess not. I don't understand how Inuyasha could like someone like that. She's a bitch!"

Kagome chuckled, though it seemed to lack most humor. "Yes, it seems that way. What I had learned from Kaede, was that when she was alive, she was much different than she is now. It seems that coming back to life has only awakened her malice and spite." The older female shook her head in what appeared to be pity. "I just hope she realizes what's actually going on." She spared her daughter a wary glance. "When I saw her last, she still believed Inuyasha to be the one at fault for everything between them. It wasn't, as we both know. Be careful around her, Saya. I don't know what all she's capable of, and I honestly don't want you to have to find out the hard way. She's not someone to take lightly."

Saya slowly nodded her head in understanding. "Are you saying she's dangerous for me?"

"No, I wouldn't think so, but we never know with her. I'd just be careful."

"Okay."

There was a span of silence between the two as they processed what had been spoken. Kagome decided to break it. "So, tell me _exactly_ how you got to keep this little cutie?" Saya smiled before she began the tale of how Yue came about to be in her care.

The following morning, Saya stirred from her slumber with the annoying sound of her alarm. Oh, how she didn't miss it. Shutting it off with a slap, she stretched before slipping out of the bed and heading to the bathroom. She kept the doors cracked in case Yue followed her; she had a feeling the pup would do so after not finding her upon waking. Her hunch was correct when she heard a quiet whine from outside the curtains several minutes later. Chuckling quietly, Saya reached out, scooped up the kit, and placed her on the floor behind her in the shower. Saya had to stop herself from laughing aloud when Yue began to attack some of the bubbles on the floor when they got too close to her. She was just so cute; it was a shame she might not like her in a bit…

Scooping the pup up, she started scrubbing her fur to clean away all the dirt and grime that had accumulated in the white fur over time. She was surprised to find the kit bearing with the treatment. Not once did she make a fuss. Even after she rinsed away the suds. She just drip-dried for a while—though the look of disgruntlement was clearly seen. Saya finished her shower, thanking herself for thinking ahead to grab another towel for the fox. Turning off the water, Saya was awarded another spray as Yue shook off. Sighing, Saya wrapped herself up in towels quickly so she could focus on drying Yue. Turning around, towel in hand, Saya froze. Before her was a giant puffball with a face were Yue once stood. Biting her lip to keep from laughing, she draped the towel over the fox and rubbed what little remained of the water off the small body. Once satisfied, she cocooned the pup in the towel and stepped out to finished getting ready. Saya made quick work of readying herself for the day before redirecting her attention to the cocooned kit that rested on the vanity beside her. Yue didn't seem to mind being swaddled in the towel; she seemed quite content to simply lay there and enjoy the warmth. Scooping the bundle beside her, Saya headed downstairs in hopes of finding a spare brush to use to get rid of the floof that was bound to happen when she tried to dry the kit.

She walked into the kitchen and smiled in relief upon sighting her mother at the stove. "Oh, thank kami-sama. I was worried I would have to dig around. Do you know if we have a spare brush that I could use for fluffball here? She's gonna need some serious TLC to get rid of all the poof that happened."

Kagome turned with a smile before her eyes went wide at the sight of Saya carrying Yue around in a towel. Turning eyes to her daughter, she asked silently with a raised eyebrow what happened. Saya looked sheepish.

"She was dirty and wanted to be with me while I was showering, so I figured, why not?" Both of her mother's eyebrows rose. "She was beginning to look more gray than white, and it was driving me nuts. She needed to get cleaned."

"You mean she's supposed to be _white_? I thought she _was_ gray…"

"My point made."

"Oh dear." There was a sigh. "Well, you're in luck. I kept the brush from Buyo the Second when he passed. I was thinking about throwing it away, but it's lucky I didn't. It's in the closet up top so Daichi couldn't reach. I'll take her, so you can get it."

Saya happily handed the pup to her mother with a warning of "Be good for Grandma" before she walked away to get the brush, Kagome chuckling behind her as she left. When she retrieved the object in question, she returned to the kitchen to see her mother still cooking while holding Yue with one arm. Saya retrieved the kitsune and made to leave when a question from her mother brought her up short.

" _Grandma_ , huh?"

"Oh, well, I'm basically her mom now, and you're my mother, so it seemed to fit…?"

Kagome gave a quiet laugh. "I suppose I'll take being a grandmother to a fox for now over being an actual grandmother when you just graduated a couple of months ago." Giving another smile, Kagome turned her attention back to the stove. "Hurry up with her. I'll have your breakfast finished here soon. Didn't want you leaving on an empty stomach."

Saya loved her mother. She was the greatest. Those thoughts in mind, Saya rushed back upstairs to dry Yue off with a hairdryer so it would speed things up a bit. Saya was surprised to find the kit actually enjoyed the hairdryer and brushing. It was a nice surprise; she had been expecting to have to fight her tooth and nail just to dry her off in a reasonable amount of time. Once that task was complete, Saya rushed back to her room to finish packing her bag. She grabbed another small bag to place all the food items; she figured it would be better and easier than trying to stuff them all in one bag. Dashing back downstairs, she finished the same time her mother did, surprised to find both males in her family down there as well.

"Oh good, you made it just in time. Breakfast is done." Upon seeing her surprised face, her mother smiled. "We didn't want to miss you leaving, so everyone got up early to make sure we were around when you left again."

Saya smiled gratefully. She really did love her family. The meal was an unusually fast and quiet ordeal—Saya blamed it on the fact that half of the people present were still trying to wake up. She managed to finish her meal and pack a bunch of dried fruits and vegetables (she really couldn't have a better mother, she was convinced) as well as many instant ramen in her spare bag. Saya also managed to grab several suckers as well, remembering her promise to Shippo. Receiving hugs one last time (and several head scratches for Yue), Saya departed back to the Feudal Era.

Once resurfacing on the other side, Saya scratched Yue's head where she was positioned around her shoulders once again and started back to Kaede's hut.

Saya arrived just as Miroku and Sango exited the hut with Shippo and Kirara not far behind. There was another voice among them, but she couldn't see who it belonged to. It sounded familiar. A sharp pain on her neck caused her to react instinctively and smack it. Glancing down, she noticed a large flea on her hand. She, regretfully, screamed in shock and fear. Damn bugs…

After the others consoled her and allowed her to understand that the flea she smashed was affiliated with Inuyasha, she had to keep herself from snorting at the irony; a flea demon helping a dog demon. Oh boy…

Once introductions were quickly made, Myoga went back to what he had been saying before Saya's arrival.

"As I was saying, I don't have much time to tell you all this before Master Inuyasha arrives once again. The reason why Inuyasha transformed was because Tessaiga broke. The sword helps keep his demon blood in check—even more so now that his fang is a part of it. He must never lose Tessaiga, lest he wants to transform again."

"Shouldn't we tell him this? It's kinda important for him to know."

"No, Master Inuyasha mustn't know!"

Saya frowned at the statement. That was hardly fair. The information was vital to Inuyasha, even if he might not like it. It was most certainly not something that should be kept from him, but if Myoga thought that he shouldn't be told... She sighed. She would keep the secret, but if she noticed that he should be told for any reason whatsoever, she would. She stated such fact aloud.

"No! You mustn't!"

"And why not? He deserves to know."

"He would decide to just transform and use his claws."

Saya frowned at the thought. She wanted to say that Inuyasha wouldn't do that but knew better. Finally, she relented with a long sigh. "Fine, but if he shows signs of needing to know, we'll tell him."

"Agreed."

It was that moment that Yue turned to the side. Saya turned as well, spotting Inuyasha making his way back to the village from the forest.

"Well, it looks like we finished this discussion just in time. Here comes Inuyasha."

Everyone turned to watch the approaching hanyou. Upon reaching the group, Inuyasha glanced around to see everyone ready to depart.

"Good, let's go."

Saya stood while rolling her eyes. Ever the patient one, that one. "We can't leave yet. Hiyori isn't back from who knows where. She won't know where to meet up with us. We have to wait for her."

"Keh. I could care less about that miko. Let's go."

Saya narrowed her eyes at the hanyou. "I don't know about that, Inuyasha. If we don't wait for Hiyori, then I'll just continue to be a pain in your rear end. After all, you would have me leave my teacher behind. I'm not much better now than I was a few months ago. Do you _really_ want to deal with me being this useless? What if an enemy comes and I suddenly—"

"Fine! We'll wait for the miko! But if she doesn't show soon, we're leaving without her ass!"

Saya sent a sunny smile Inuyasha's way. "Thank you, Inuyasha."

The hanyou grumbled beneath his breath as he stalked away—presumable to scout ahead and decide which direction to travel. Once Inuyasha was out of earshot, Sango turned a worried glance at Saya.

"Surely, you don't believe anything about what you just said to Inuyasha, do you? You are far from useless!"

Saya smiled at Sango's concern. "I only said that to make sure that we stayed to wait for Hiyori. I don't believe any of it. While I haven't progressed much in the spiritual side of things, I know for a fact that my endurance, speed, and reflexes have all shot through the roof in comparison thanks to the training sessions I've had to put up with."

"Glad to hear that you enjoyed them so. I could continue the regimen if you so desired."

Miroku, Sango, and Saya all squawked and jumped apart in fright when Hiyori's voice suddenly appeared behind them. They turned around to see her smiling innocently. _That woman is gonna be the death of me_ , Saya thought.

* * *

 _Hey everyone. I hate to be_ that _person, but I really need the feedback. I would like to get some reviews for this chapter. I don't really even care what it is. I just need to know that people are still reading this. I can see it on the stats, but I haven't gotten any feedback from anyone but my beta._ ** _I would like at least three (3) reviews before I'm willing to post the next chapter._**

 _That being said, it's NaNoWriMo, and I have every intention of writing every day this month. In this story and in my other story (my Draco story that I've been rewriting). So I have plans to update at least twice this month-but that won't happen if I don't get the reviews and feedback that I need. I love you all, and I want to keep writing this story. But it's really hard to keep pushing myself to work on it if I don't know if many people are even reading and enjoying it._ _I really enjoyed writing and had been looking forward to writing the next chapter since I started writing this story. It's by far one of my favorites that I've written thus far, and I can't wait to share it with you all, so please, just review._

 _If you find a part that you really like, hate, think needs improvement,_ please _let me know! Thank you guys, and I'm sorry for having to do this, but I don't see any other way. Until next time guys._

 _~Saph_


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